Reps. Bizzarro, Madden introduce bill to end nursing homes’ crisis
Long-term care would receive predictable funding
Rep. Ryan Bizzarro April 23, 2025 | 11:01 AM
HARRISBURG, April 23 – As a wave of closures of long-term care facilities sweeps Pennsylvania, state Reps. Ryan Bizzarro and Maureen Madden have introduced a bill that would help end the financial crisis facing many of the state’s quality aging services by providing predictable funding.
“We have a crisis in Pennsylvania. More than 30 nursing homes and long-term care facilities have closed since the pandemic,” said Bizzarro, who serves on the House Democratic Leadership team and works as the chairman of the House Majority Policy Committee. “Pennsylvania has a lower reimbursement rate than all its neighboring states, but we can fix this problem, protect our seniors and preserve the care they need.”
House Bill 1310 would set predictable funding, using a formula to set the minimum reimbursement rate – allowing aging services facilities to set their budgets. This in turn, would also make it possible to better address staffing concerns. The legislation would preserve and improve the care for seniors at government-run, nonprofit and for-profit nursing homes. It would also help preserve personal care homes and assisted living communities.
“Pennsylvania ranks in the top five in the nation when it comes to our older population,” said Madden, who is the majority chair on the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee. “This bill is desperately needed to replace legislation that was intended to be a one-year fix to escalating nursing home costs 20 years ago.”
President and CEO of Pennsylvania Health Care Association Zach Shamberg, Madden and other state lawmakers hosted a news conference to announce the legislation.
“I think you’ve heard overwhelmingly this morning that the system is broken, but we can fix it,” Shamberg said. “PHCA and SEIU and most of the legislature, we hope, will stand with us to do just that this year.”
Shamberg and lawmakers were joined at the news conference by several nurses.
“A facility in Clarion County just closed this past spring,” said SEIU worker and LPN Tina Siegel, who has worked for 40 years in Clarion County. “So even though we didn’t have enough staff to begin with to take care of the residents we have, we got residents from that facility that closed.”
The bill would help operators properly budget and address numerous issues, including staffing concerns.
The House Majority Policy Committee hosted a hearing on the issue in March, gathering testimony from stakeholders, advocates and operators of aging service facilities. The hearing detailed the issue of staffing and the cascading issues that are caused by closures.
A recording of the hearing’s livestream can be found here.