The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) has kicked off a new advocacy campaign that encourages people to host house parties to bring attention to the need for long-term care reform.

AAHSA says its “Party With a Purpose” campaign is intended to foster community gatherings around the nation that will range in scope from living room chats to town hall meetings and that “will serve as a platform for conversation and action around long-term services and supports.” Attendees will learn about funding for long-term care and health reform and will be encouraged to share their personal stories related to long-term services and supports.

“Members of Congress must hear how important this issue is to their constituents,” says AAHSA. “They must understand that health care reform will be incomplete unless it creates a new insurance-based program to help people pay for the services they need, when they need them, in the place they call home.”

To this end, AAHSA has drawn up a petition and produced an eighteen-minute video that examines the problem of financing long-term care and proposes a solution.

“Beginning to address long-term care financing is an important step toward improving consumer options, and one that should be included in any national health reform legislation,” said PHI’s national policy director, Steven Edelstein, in response to the new campaign. “The underfunding of our eldercare/disability services system has been a critical factor limiting our ability to improve direct-care jobs.

“At the same time we must be aware that money alone won’t solve our workforce shortage.  If we want to ensure that there are trained, qualified workers to provide long-term services and supports, we must have an integrated workforce development strategy that can bear the weight of this effort.”