GOP appoints first members to LTC commission

The new Commission on Long-Term Care begins to take shape as House Republicans contribute two members to the bipartisan forum.

Neil L. Pruitt, Jr., serves on the American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) board of directors and is chairman and CEO of the UHS-Pruitt Corporation. “I've seen firsthand how post-acute care has evolved through the years and become a vital partner in the long term care continuum,” Pruitt told AHCA. “But we've never lost sight that it all hinges on quality. We have an opportunity with this commission to reach new pinnacles in caring for our nation's seniors, and that means also finding ways to keep Medicare and Medicaid financially sound.”

Judith Y. Brachman has served prominent roles in the government health and housing sectors, including eight years as director of the Ohio Department of Aging. She serves on the board of the Jewish Federations of North America, and has been the national co-chair of JFNA’s Aging and Family Caregiving Committee for the past five years.

Brachman and Pruitt join the six Democratic members from the House and Senate, named last week:

• Javaid Anwar, physician
• Laphonza Butler, president of the United Long-Term Care Workers Union
• Judy Feder, professor of public policy at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute
• Bruce Allen Chernof, president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation
• Judith Stein, founder and executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
• George Vrandenburg, president of the Vrandenburg Foundation and founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s

Although some have voiced opinions that the six-month time frame given for the commission to solve some of healthcare biggest problens. But others say the process has to begin somewhere, preferably with all political sides in the same room.

“The commission members will have an important mandate to act quickly and to push Congress to act too,” wrote Larry Minnix, president and CEO of LeadingAge, in a letter to the San Jose Mercury News last week. “They will need to find the right balance to provide Congress with both viable policy solutions and the political incentives to apply them.”

The commission, created by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, will consist of 15 people, with three members each being appointed by House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats and President Obama.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.