AAHSA President and CEO Larry Minnix

President Obama on Monday released his nearly $1 trillion, 10-year version of healthcare reform. It includes long-term care provisions from previous bills, including the disability insurance program known as the CLASS Act, and a move to close the Medicare prescription drug doughnut hole.

Larry Minnix, president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, expressed his support for the new bill at the annual AAHSA Future of Aging Services Conference & Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

“It is time to get the healthcare bill done,” he said in a press briefing. They plan to meet with their congressmen today to advocate on behalf of long-term care issues.

The White House proposal, which combines ideas from House and Senate legislation, also would provide significant additional federal financing to states for the expansion of Medicaid, according to a brief summary of the plan. It would strengthen provisions to fight fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. Obama released his proposal in advance of Thursday’s healthcare reform summit.