More than 400 long-term and post-acute care professionals from across the country completed meetings with their respective federal lawmakers Wednesday in Washington. The meetings were the conclusion of the annual Congressional Briefing event hosted by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

AHCA/NCAL members pushed numerous high-priority initiatives on the lawmakers and key aides, including counting observation stay days in the hospital toward Medicare’s required three-day stay to qualify for skilled nursing care; repealing the Medicare Part B therapy caps; improving thin operating margins; and providers’ recent quality improvement efforts.

Providers also were prodded by association leaders to lobby for solutions to the “doc fix” payment formula that would not take away from long-term care resources or interests. Participants were buoyed by key lawmakers’ and pundits’ compliments a day earlier, when they were praised for being helpful and open.

“We have proven our ability to propose viable solutions addressing the complex problems facing the aging population of our nation,” said AHCA Board Chairman Leonard Russ.