{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-kaine-lead-legislation-to-expand-access-to-home-and-community-based-care-for-older-adults-and-people-with-disabilities/", "Luj\u00e1n, Kaine Lead Legislation to Expand Access to Home and Community-Based Care for Older Adults and People with Disabilities", "2026-08-07", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "NM", "Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n", "L000570", "www.lujan.senate.gov", "lujan", "https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Access Act, legislation to ensure older adults and people with disabilities have a real choice between receiving long-term care at home or in institutional settings. The legislation would make home and community-based care a mandatory Medicaid benefit, gradually eliminate waiting lists for services, strengthen the home and community-based care workforce, and provide greater support for family caregivers.\n\nUnder current Medicaid policy, many older adults and people with disabilities have access to nursing homes and other institutional care, but if they want to remain in their home and community, access to home and community-based services often depends on state waiver programs that can leave people waiting years \u2014 or even decades \u2014 for the care they need. The HCBS Access Act would expand access to home and community-based care and ensure that people who want to stay in their home and receive care can.\n\n\u201cEvery American deserves the opportunity to receive care in the place they call home,\u201d said Senator Luj\u00e1n. \u201cFar too many older adults and people with disabilities are forced into getting care in a setting far from home, not because it\u2019s what they want, but because it\u2019s the only option they have. My legislation would give families the freedom to choose the care that best meets their needs, while strengthening the caregiving workforce and providing critical support for family caregivers.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany Virginians want to age with dignity in their homes, where they can remain connected with their family, friends, and community,\u201d said Senator Kaine. \u201cThe HCBS Access Act will help give millions of people the opportunity to receive essential at-home services, while boosting support for the family caregivers and direct care workers who make independent living possible. I\u2019m proud to support this legislation to help put at-home care within reach for more Virginians.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, the Home and Community-Based Services Access Act would:\n\nMake HCBS a mandatory Medicaid benefit, ensuring eligible individuals can choose between receiving care at home or in an institutional setting.\n\nEliminate the need for administratively burdensome Medicaid HCBS waiver programs.\n\nIncrease federal Medicaid funding for home and community-based services.\n\nProvide grants to help states expand their HCBS capacity and reduce waiting lists.\n\nStrengthen the direct care workforce by improving job quality, stability, and workforce availability.\n\nSupport states in providing caregiving workers with stable, quality jobs and living wages.\n\nExpand training and support for family caregivers.\n\nImprove oversight and quality assurance for home and community-based services.\n\nIn addition to Luj\u00e1n and Kaine the HCBS Access Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).\n\nThe Home and Community-Based Services Access Act is supported by Justice in Aging, National Health Law Program, PHI, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Caring Across, National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), Autism Society of America, The Arc of the United States, Well Spouse Association, Little Lobbyists, Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, CommunicationFIRST, Independence Center, Cure SMA, Lakeshore Foundation, American Association on Health and Disability, Care in Action, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), National Alliance for Caregiving, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD), Easterseals, Autism Speaks, ANCOR, ADAPT, and MomsRising.\n\nSupporting quotes can be found here.\n\nFull bill text is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-kaine-lead-legislation-to-expand-access-to-home-and-community-based-care-for-older-adults-and-people-with-disabilities/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.623224001377821, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}