With Its Passage Now All But Assured, EMPOWER for Health Act Highlights a Rare But Important Bipartisan Priority: Supporting Us All as We Age
New York (Oct. 28, 2019)—Among several legislative proposals slated for a vote today in the U.S. House of Representatives, one in particular offers a glimpse at something unique: Bipartisan collaboration and support. But as experts from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) observe, that may be because the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781) stands poised to accomplish something as unique as it is necessary: Putting federal power behind training the health workforce we need as we age.
“The future we’re working for at the AGS—a future when all older Americans have access to high-quality, person-centered care—begins by building the workforce to make that possible, and by ensuring that workforce can connect us to the tools and supports we need as we grow older together,” observed Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA. CEO of the AGS. “The EMPOWER for Health Act will make that possible by supporting two training programs that are as critical to our future as they are widely supported, thanks in large part to the bipartisan efforts that will make this bill law.”