Angus King

I want to publicly thank the chair and co-chair of the committee, Jon Tester of Montana and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

I want to thank all of you. This has been very informative.

By the way, that's a problem across the board. We had an Armed Services Committee hearing this week about the inability of many small businesses to interact with the Pentagon.

So awareness is a big part of the issue?

I believe that we have leaders there that want to help us, they care.

Will that access information include information about VA availabilities?

I'm sorry nobody said we're not gonna return these phone calls, it just didn't happen.

I'm so grateful for your office, Senator King.

So the problem wasn't the service, it was the time to get the service; is that correct?

Take note of what she just said. Twenty-five percent of the residents in Aroostook County today are over 65. That's extraordinary.

So it's a vicious circle. The workload goes up, the staff burns out and leaves, and then you've got another gap.

Stabilize the workforce. This is directly tied to increased reimbursements, as you've heard, which need to be tied to inflation.

I urge this committee to focus on the impact that Medicare and Medicaid payment policy is having on veterans' access to post-acute care services.

Prevention, prevention, prevention.

The good is we have a historically low unemployment rate, but that creates the question of the migratory workforce.

If retention is the goal, one of the ironies is that as you have gaps and you have longer hours and--that is a vicious downward spiral because people burn out.

They're also going to be facing closure; aren't they?

That's a scary thought, isn't it?

TAP is the Transition Assistance Program?

These are the private nursing homes that are contracted for by the VA?

So that's compounded by additional regulations that increase cost but don't provide any additional funds; is that correct?

It would help if we had a budget, not a continuing resolution.

What should we be attending to in the next round of VA and veterans' legislation?

Every day that you delay a nursing-home placement, the veteran is happier and the taxpayers are happier.

Could you define expansion? Are we talking 20, 30 percent, 40 percent? I mean----