3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Medicaid in 2025: Anticipating the Program’s Restructuring

Medicaid will be in the limelight this year if the Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress follow through on their stated intention to overhaul the program’s financing. If implemented, these changes could significantly impact nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home and community-based service providers. Capitol Hill staff, administration representatives, and other policy experts will use this session to explore potential changes to the Medicaid program and describe how these changes could affect how states finance Medicaid, the services or populations Medicaid programs cover, and how some aging services staff access health care coverage. You’ll leave this session with a better understanding of what could be in store and how to make your voice heard during conversations about Medicaid’s restructuring.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Life Plan Communities: How State Laws Impact Financial Solvency

Existing state statutes and legislative challenges can threaten the financial management and strategic direction of life plan communities. This session will draw on research by LeadingAge, which examined how state laws affect the financial solvency of communities nationwide. An expert panel of LeadingAge state partners, business partners, and members will discuss the economic implications of proposed state legislation and review how advocacy by LeadingAge state partners has effectively curtailed harmful initiatives. They will also provide guidance to help you mobilize your organization, board, and residents to urge state policymakers to protect the financial autonomy of life plan communities and respect the ability of these communities to safeguard their economic viability.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Lobby Day Bootcamp: Become an Advocacy Champion

Lobby Day is a key component of LeadingAge’s annual Leadership Summit. It offers LeadingAge members a unique opportunity to meet with congressional lawmakers and their policy staff, discuss critical issues affecting providers of aging services, and advocate for policy changes that better support older adults. This session will give you the tools you need for successful Lobby Day visits. Presenters will review LeadingAge’s policy priorities, explain how to navigate Capitol Hill, and brief you on what to expect when you arrive in congressional offices. You’ll also learn how to communicate policy messages effectively, build relationships with lawmakers, and follow up with them once you return home. Designed for beginners and seasoned advocates alike, this session will prepare you to be an advocacy champion during Lobby Day and throughout the year.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Policy Update: Medicare Home Health and Hospice

2024 was a big year for the home health and hospice sectors as LeadingAge and policymakers from both parties began serious discussions about the value of reforming Medicare’s hospice benefit and elevating the value of home health. Staff members from Capitol Hill offices and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will use this session to discuss what’s next for hospice and home health. Discover how benefits for both programs might evolve and how current legislation could affect providers of aging services. Explore the growth of palliative care, the likelihood of a Medicare Advantage hospice “carve-in,” home health payment reform, and initiatives designed to improve program integrity. Presenters will share information about advocacy and engagement opportunities designed to help you participate in hospice and home health conversations.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Strategic Pathways: The Evolution of the LPC Model

The life plan community model has been undergoing significant transitions as providers pursue a variety of strategies to ensure vibrant futures for their organizations and the individuals they serve. Some providers are rebalancing service lines or adjusting the size of communities. Others are working to align consumer preferences with their organization’s mission, history, market dynamics, reimbursement rates, and projected utilization trends. This session will feature an in-depth and informed discussion with a diverse panel of providers who have chosen various paths to success. Panelists will help you understand the internal and external dynamics affecting your organization‘s journey and provide a clear vision of the options that could help secure its future.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Turning Skilled Nursing Skeptics into Believers

Are your leadership team, board, and key stakeholders skeptical about the skilled nursing model? This session might change their minds. A panel of mission-driven LeadingAge member providers will explain why they are investing in, reinventing, or transforming the skilled nursing model into a high-quality, valuable service line that meets organizational needs while addressing critical service gaps. Learn how the panelists have navigated key skilled nursing challenges—including consumer preferences, reimbursement pressures, workforce issues, and rising costs—and how these challenges have shaped organizational decision-making. Discover strategies to help your organization’s leaders and board members adopt a shared vision for the future of skilled nursing. You’ll take home innovative approaches to reinventing and strengthening the skilled nursing model.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Master Strategic Planning by Leveraging Diverse Perspectives

Organizations must conduct strategic planning to secure their long-term sustainability. The typical planning process involves setting goals, identifying actions needed to achieve those goals, and mobilizing resources to implement those actions. In addition, achieving the best outcomes requires intentionality and innovation in aligning mission and values, broadening stakeholder engagement, using integrated dashboards to manage data, and addressing challenging market gaps without overlooking popular trends. This session will help you harness the power of diverse perspectives to craft creative, comprehensive strategies that align closely with evolving sector demands and market opportunities. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how other organizations and leaders approach strategy development and who they include in the strategic planning process.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Leading with a Growth Mindset

As an aging services executive or board member, you’ve likely faced significant obstacles, failures, and challenges throughout your leadership journey. Reflecting on those difficult times can help you recognize the leadership growth and wisdom that emerge from significant setbacks. More importantly, you’ll understand how these situations can prepare you to tackle future challenges. This session will examine how to leverage the lessons we learn during our “crucible moments” and, equally important, how to cultivate a personal mindset and organizational culture that embraces challenges, risks, and uncertainty as opportunities for growth.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Make Sure Your Next Project Resonates with Consumers

Nonprofit providers often face criticism for lagging behind their for-profit counterparts in developing new residential offerings. Fortunately, there is much to celebrate in our sector, considering recent and notable market-rate communities that nonprofit providers have brought to the market. These communities have resonated with consumers and achieved impressive occupancy rates. This session will showcase a diverse group of providers whose new offerings have captivated older consumers in their respective markets. Discover the unique programs and features of these campuses and the common elements they share. You’ll return home more confident about advancing projects under development or in your pipeline, whether designed to introduce new, repositioned, or expanded campuses to your market.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Transform Today’s Board into Tomorrow’s Board

Nonprofit boards must stay abreast of evolving trends so they can effectively fulfill their missions in the future. However, it isn’t always easy for board members to remain agile, effective, and connected in a rapidly changing operating environment. This session will explore a range of manageable actions that board members can implement at their own pace to prepare themselves for the future. Listen as a seasoned governance advisor shares practices that can help you maintain personal connections among board members despite the popularity of online meetings, encourage trustees to reassess their financial and logistical responsibilities in light of societal challenges like climate change and economic volatility, and ensure board members remain transparent, responsive, and open to stakeholder representation.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Expand Your Mission by Becoming an Affordable Housing Provider

Can life plan community sponsors become affordable housing providers? This session will answer that question by exploring how the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program could help your organization broaden its mission, promote economic diversity and inclusion, and address a critical need. A panel of providers at various stages of LIHTC-funded projects will share their experiences with affordable housing, from initial planning to implementation. Presenters will offer their insights into the LIHTC process and help you assess how an affordable housing development project could align with your community’s mission and strategic goals. Whether new to LIHTC or looking for inspiration, this session will leave you with a better understanding of the opportunities associated with affordable housing—and practical strategies to help you seize them.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Turning Skilled Nursing Skeptics into Believers

Are your leadership team, board, and key stakeholders skeptical about the skilled nursing model? This session might change their minds. A panel of mission-driven LeadingAge member providers will explain why they are investing in, reinventing, or transforming the skilled nursing model into a high-quality, valuable service line that meets organizational needs while addressing critical service gaps. Learn how the panelists have navigated key skilled nursing challenges—including consumer preferences, reimbursement pressures, workforce issues, and rising costs—and how these challenges have shaped organizational decision-making. Discover strategies to help your organization’s leaders and board members adopt a shared vision for the future of skilled nursing. You’ll take home innovative approaches to reinventing and strengthening the skilled nursing model.