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Non-Profit Aging Services Providers Applaud State Lawmakers for Moving Forward on Critical Investments in Essential Care & Services for Older Iowans

Funding responds to growing older population, rising costs, nursing home closures, and shrinkage in staff

Today, the Iowa General Assembly passed Senate File 561, the Health and Human Services budget, that includes $15 million in additional support for aging services providers.  LeadingAge Iowa, issued the following statement:

“Today is an important step forward for anyone who wants to age with dignity in Iowa.

The budget passed today shows that Iowa’s lawmakers are committed to ensuring every Iowan can access the care and support they need to age with dignity. Even as aging services providers across the country continue to struggle with exploding costs and workforce shortages, Iowa’s lawmakers were among the first in the country to listen to the dire warnings being voiced by our aging services professionals. Now, they are among the first to respond to the escalating costs that have threatened access to care for Iowa’s older population.

The critical investment of $15 million will allow long-term care providers to strengthen their workforce pipeline, recruit and retain more dedicated professional caregivers to meet the needs of our aging population, and help Iowa's aging-service providers avoid closures while continuing to provide the highest quality of care.

We urge Governor Reynolds to sign this critical measure.

On behalf of everyone our members already care for, and every Iowan we’ll care for in the future, LeadingAge Iowa would like to say thank you to our lawmakers for the leadership and foresight they’ve shown on this critical issue this session. 

There’s more to be done to build out the spectrum of aging services to meet the needs and preferences of Iowa’s growing older adult population, but today is an important step forward.” -Shannon Strickler, President & CEO

The budget passed today includes $15 million in funding for Iowa’s long-term care providers. It comes after a report released by LeadingAge Iowa earlier this year detailed numerous challenges that risks older Iowans access to essential care and services, including:

  • All of the fastest growing age groups in Iowa between now and 2040 are over age 65. By 2040, the 85+ population in Iowa is expected to grow by over 90%. This is the age group that is most likely to need aging services, particularly nursing homes. 
  • The aging services workforce had shrunk by more than 11% since the start of 2020, even while overall employment in the state had grown 2%. 
  • Skyrocketing costs had more than doubled the gap between what it costs to provide care and what the state reimburses providers for it. 
  • Together, these workforce challenges and rising costs drove more than 23 providers out of business since the start of 2022, reducing older Iowans access to care at a time when Iowa’s population is rapidly aging.

LeadingAge Iowa would like to give special thanks to a number of key lawmakers who led the charge on behalf of older Iowans this session, including members of the Health & Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee:

Senate Members

House Members

Additionally, we want to highlight the following legislators for their leadership on this issue: 

House Members

Senate Members

Watch Now: Iowa’s Aging Services Providers Speak on Crucial Medicaid Funding

LeadingAge Iowa sat down with leaders in Iowa’s Aging Services sector to discuss the need for sufficient Medicaid funding in Iowa. Older Iowans are in crisis. Nursing home providers want to deliver quality care, but the system is broken. Medicaid funding is crucial to the stability and success of aging services.  

 

To read the Aging Services Situation Report, click here. 

View the entire virtual briefing below:

To thank your legislators for passing $15 million in additional support for aging services providers, click here. 

To view the press release, click here.