The Week in Media : January 10, 2022 – January 23, 2022

I. FOLLOWING THE NARRATIVE: A quick summary of national media trends last week.
(* indicates that LeadingAge is featured in the story.) 

Rapid Omicron spread nationwide and rising COVID cases renewed interest in older adults’ health, safety and vaccine status – as well as that of caregivers’ –  in nursing homes and other settings. Many media reports are focusing on how the highly transmissible Omicron virus adds more stress to an already struggling workforce, as more staff get sick and testing kits are frequently difficult to find. Other news topics: the impact of Supreme Court decisions on CMS and OHSA vaccine mandates and the now stagnant Build Back Better Bill, which Congressional leaders and President Biden now acknowledge may be more likely to pass if broken into smaller packages. 

Coronavirus, Vaccination/Boosters, Tests, Visitation, Workforce and Legal Challenges

• *The Associated Press: COVID deaths and cases are rising again at US nursing homes
• The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Cases Surge at Nursing Homes
• *NPR: The nursing home staffing crisis right now is like nothing we’ve seen before
• *National Journal: Nursing homes struggle with staff shortages amid Omicron surge
• The Washington Post: Low-wage workers prop up the nursing home industry. They’re quitting in droves.
• Skilled Nursing News, [UPDATED] SCOTUS OKs CMS Mandate, Blocks OSHA Vaccine-or-Test Rule
• Healthcare Finance News: CMS sets March 15 deadline for healthcare workers to get vaccinated
• McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, Supreme Court leaves providers to grapple with vaccine mandate, takes other employers off the hook
• McKnight’s Senior Living: States don’t wait as fate of federal COVID vaccine mandates remains uncertain
• The New York Times: Booster shots are instrumental in protecting against Omicron, new C.D.C. data suggest.
• Fierce Healthcare: Insurers must cover at-home COVID-19 tests starting Jan. 15 under new CMS directive
• *CNN: Testing requirements for nursing home visits leave families stuck in ‘another lockdown’
• *McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Debate over visitor access rages as more states require vaccination
• The Los Angeles Times: Families struggle to get COVID tests to visit loved ones in nursing and senior homes
• *Modern Healthcare, Long-term care turns to refugees, immigrants to address staffing shortages

Biden Administration and Congress 

• Fox News: Biden admin awards $103M from American Rescue Plan to fight health care worker burnout
• *McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Aging services leaders make plea for public, legislative support of BBB
• McKnight’s Senior Living: Senior living must be prioritized in COVID-19 response, association says in plea to Biden administration 
• The Washington Post: A year ago, Biden unveiled a 200-page plan to defeat covid. He has struggled to deliver on some key promises.
• The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Start to Sketch Out Revived Build Back Better Package
• CBS News: What’s next for Biden’s social spending plan

II. Other Clips that Influenced the Week: LeadingAge is a sought-out, reliable source for multiple trade and national media outlets (see that coverage posted in our LeadingAge Press Room). Other key clips that shaped the narrative last week: 

• *McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: CMS push for staff hours, turnover data a ‘gut punch,’ to struggling nursing homes
• Politico: Covid pill access complicated by logistics, federal rules
• Wall Street Journal: ‘Magic’ Multigenerational Housing Aims to Alleviate Social Isolation
• McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Fines, fines, fines… we are not fine 
• The New York Time: The Joys (and Challenges) of Sex After 70
• The New York Times: I’m a Longtime Union Organizer. But I Had Never Seen Anything Like This.
• *McKnight’s Senior Living: Assisted living CEOs see 4.12 percent salary increase

III. What’s On Our Radar — this week’s likely priorities:

• LeadingAge request to White House for increased support for all aging services to ensure continued operations, as Omicron surges – with particular focus on workforce 
• Engagement with CMS on visitation and reporting flexibility during Omicron spread and workforce challenges

IV. National Statements & Products (all posted on the Press Room page):

• More Than 30 National And Regional Leaders Tell Public To Beware Of Growing Crisis In Accessing Care For Older Americans And Call On American People To Fight For Strengthening Support For Build Back Better (1/11/22)
• LeadingAge Statement on the Supreme Court of the United States Decisions Regarding Challenges to the OSHA and CMS Rules on Vaccine Mandates (1/13/22)