A new House bill would encourage long-term care facilities to invest in capital improvements, expand access to disaster relief funding, and help alleviate the workforce shortage.

U.S. Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Dave Camp (R-MI), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) last week introduced the Long Term Care Quality and Modernization Act of 2006. Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) recently introduced a bill of the same name in the Senate.

Other key provisions of the bill include: establishing a 20% credit for investment in long-term care facility information technology, requiring more training of providers and surveyors regarding changes in regulations and policy; and modernizing payment policy for therapy services.