Legislative Update
The General Assembly is currently on its spring break, and the House and Senate are scheduled to re-convene the second week of April for the remainder of the legislative session, which adjourns on May 31st. The AALC passed its highest individual priority legislation, House Bill 1769 out of the House Revenue Committee, which seeks to codify SLP current property tax valuations and prevent interpretation in property tax valuation for individual assessors. The bill received unanimous support in committee and AALC seeks passage in both the House and Senate prior to the May 31st deadline.
The AALC is actively engaged in attempting to secure direct revenues from the American Rescue Plan, which was passed by Congress and will direct upwards of $7 billion to the state of Illinois for COVID-related purposes. The AALC has joined other long-term-care trade associations in requesting $600 million to be spread across our industries.
AALC is also working to protect and enhance its Medicaid rate as the state of Illinois and the skilled-nursing industry seeks to maximize its provider assessment. In 2019, the AALC was successful in passing legislation to “re-link” SLP rates to 54.3% skilled-nursing rates, which provided an increase of over $50 million annually. If skilled-nursing rates increase due to an increase in the provider assessment, AALC will be advocating to ensure our link is protected, enhancing our rate however possible, and ensuring that the disparity between the SLP and skilled-nursing rates does not grow.
