3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

How Will Medicaid Changes Affect Your Organization?

The steep cuts in federal Medicaid funding authorized in 2025 under H.R. 1 will have significant implications for states, aging services providers, and consumers alike regardless of their participation in Medicaid. Few states will be able to offset reductions in federal support, and these expectations are already prompting state policymakers to make difficult decisions about healthcare services and payments. How will these pressures affect your organization even if you don’t serve Medicaid participants? This session will help answer that question. Join other aging services leaders to explore the potential impact of H.R. 1 on employee health coverage, uncompensated care, and patient acuity. Find out how care and service providers are responding to these devastating changes and what you may expect in the coming years.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Let’s Get Bullish on HCBS!

Some LeadingAge members have long been bullish on home and community-based services (HCBS). Others are now beginning to view HCBS as a way to expand their reach, meet consumer preferences, and reduce capital outlays for brick-and-mortar care settings. During this session, a panel of HCBS leaders from both groups will discuss how they are striving to meet the needs and preferences of older consumers seeking home-based services. You’ll hear from leaders whose organizations offer a range of HCBS options, including Continuing Care at Home, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, Medicare-reimbursed home health and hospice, and private-pay home care and care coordination. They’ll explain how HCBS fits into their missions and histories—and how this service line might fit your growth strategy.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The Transformative Power of Repositioning

Providers of aging services face a range of challenges as they seek to deliver high-quality services and supports to more older adults. Securing capital for new construction projects and land purchases is becoming increasingly expensive. Suitable land bordering or near existing campuses is increasingly scarce. As a result, most providers invest in repositioning and expanding capacity at existing campuses rather than building new ones. LeadingAge providers and their architects will offer insights to help you update your organization’s aging assets to meet the needs and preferences of new cohorts of older adults. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about transformational repositioning projects, reflect on their successes, and apply the lessons providers have learned along the way.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Medicare Home Health and Hospice: Where Do We Go from Here?

In 2025, the federal government proposed deep, destabilizing cuts to home health payments and implemented a new hospice assessment tool that could affect future payments. Where do we go from here? This session will address that question. Staff from Capitol Hill offices, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the LeadingAge Policy Team will discuss the future direction of Medicare benefits for home health and hospice. They will also examine legislation affecting home health and hospice providers, palliative care, home health payment reform, and program integrity efforts. Discover how you can advocate to preserve these essential services so Americans can age in place if they choose.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

The Value of Home-Based Caregivers: Using Evidence to Drive Policy Change

Home-based care is integral to the aging services sector. Yet professional caregivers who work in clients’ homes often feel undervalued by the public, providers, policymakers, and consumers. This session will explore how results from a randomized controlled trial of aides caring for community-dwelling older adults with heart failure could shift those perceptions. Researchers found that an education and communication intervention improved aides' self-efficacy and knowledge, resulting in fewer self-reported, preventable 911 calls and potentially saving health care dollars. Presenters will discuss how these positive findings demonstrate the value of home-based caregivers and could inform federal and state policy recommendations for home care, home health, and the direct care workforce.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

The Future of Medicare Advantage: New Year, New Direction?

2025 brought dramatic changes to Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage plans became the primary choice for nearly 34 million Medicare beneficiaries, profoundly affecting provider payments, health care delivery patterns, and beneficiary access to services. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began efforts to reform and clarify long-standing Medicare Advantage rules, including prior authorization and the use of artificial intelligence. A new CMS administrator and Congress introduced a new vision for Medicare Advantage that continues to affect beneficiaries and providers. Are you confused by all the changes and uncertain about what lies ahead? Attend this session to gain clarity as policymakers and pundits explain the new Medicare Advantage goals and how they align with LeadingAge’s advocacy agenda.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

How Providers Are Supporting One Another Through Turbulent Times

During these turbulent economic times, some aging services organizations are facing financial strain, declining census, or other pressures that could threaten their sustainability. Fortunately, organizations don’t have to face these challenges alone—their colleagues across the country have their backs. This session will feature a group of senior living leaders who are providing a range of assistance—including strategic advice, financial guidance, and operational support—to help fellow providers navigate challenging circumstances and move their organizations toward long-term health. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear inspiring stories from leaders who are extending a hand to help other organizations preserve their nonprofit missions. You’ll learn how these leaders determine when and how to intervene, how they’ve helped, and what they’ve learned.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The CEO as Culture Champion: A Leadership Imperative

A strong organizational culture is never accidental. It is shaped, modeled, and reinforced by an organization’s leaders. That culture fuels an organization’s quality and accountability because it is grounded in deeply held values such as empathy, belonging, trust, and empowerment. This session will feature a panel of aging services leaders who have embraced their role as “culture champions.” These leaders will explain how they intentionally nurture their organizations' culture by strengthening relationships among team members, elevating their organization’s brand, and aligning all stakeholders around a shared mission. An organizational health expert will be on hand to unpack the unique dynamics of culture in nonprofit aging services organizations and share lessons from other sectors that have elevated culture as a strategic priority.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Technology Adoption: Cultivating a Culture of Curiosity

Purchasing the right technology for your senior living organization is far more complex than simply ordering the right tool and plugging it in. This session will offer proven strategies to help your organization cultivate a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and continuous learning, so team members confidently adopt technology rather than quietly resist it. Presenters will teach you how to ensure that new technology aligns with your organization’s mission, resident experience, workforce challenges, and strategy. You’ll also learn how to engage frontline staff, managers, and cross-functional teams in selecting, testing, and refining technology solutions. Don’t miss this opportunity to ensure that technology adoption becomes part of how your organization learns and evolves, rather than a one-off initiative that struggles to gain traction.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Shaping the Future of Affordable Senior Housing

LeadingAge is working diligently to advance bold policy goals to preserve, expand, and enhance affordable housing for older adults. During this session, staff from congressional offices and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will discuss their goals for affordable senior housing. In addition, LeadingAge’s Policy Team will explore how those goals align with and diverge from LeadingAge’s platform to preserve, expand, and enhance service-enriched affordable housing for older adults. Don’t miss this opportunity to review funding, policy, and operational issues affecting affordable housing, including federal rental assistance programs, service coordination, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. You’ll also gain tips for participating in advocacy that helps shape the future of affordable senior housing.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Federal Advocacy: Who Holds the Power?

Congress and executive-branch agencies share authority over federal policies affecting aging services. But you might need a scorecard to determine which branch of government exercises which powers and how aging services stakeholders can best engage in federal advocacy. This session will help you better understand the two houses of Congress, the difference between congressional offices and committees, and how federal agencies develop rules and requirements that affect a range of aging services settings, from nursing homes and affordable senior housing to home and community-based services. Join us to review the shared powers of Congress, the White House, and federal agencies. Learn strategies to help you advocate for aging services when you visit Capitol Hill on Lobby Day.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Micro-Credentialing: An Emerging Workforce Development Model

The aging services sector continually strives to deliver high-quality care despite acute shortages of certified nursing assistants (CNA) and other frontline caregivers. “Micro-credentialing” could help address that challenge. This emerging workforce development model enables direct care professionals to participate in short-term learning experiences, have their knowledge assessed by a trusted third party, and earn micro-credentials in various aspects of geriatrics-informed care. During this session, representatives from a university and a retirement community in Maine will describe their efforts to use micro-credentialing to help CNAs build knowledge and skills, gain recognition, advance in their careers, and potentially increase their wages. They’ll also explain how micro-credentialing can help provider organizations reduce turnover, improve quality metrics, and enhance residents’ quality of care and quality of life.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Let’s Get Bullish on HCBS!

Some LeadingAge members have long been bullish on home and community-based services (HCBS). Others are now beginning to view HCBS as a way to expand their reach, meet consumer preferences, and reduce capital outlays for brick-and-mortar care settings. During this session, a panel of HCBS leaders from both groups will discuss how they are striving to meet the needs and preferences of older consumers seeking home-based services. You’ll hear from leaders whose organizations offer a range of HCBS options, including Continuing Care at Home, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, Medicare-reimbursed home health and hospice, and private-pay home care and care coordination. They’ll explain how HCBS fits into their missions and histories—and how this service line might fit your growth strategy.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Peer Coaching in Action

By pairing individuals with similar roles or professional backgrounds, peer coaching programs foster trust, empathy, and shared understanding—creating stronger connections and more meaningful support. This collaborative approach not only supports skill development, but can also improve job satisfaction, strengthen retention, and reduce turnover. During this session, two aging services providers will discuss both the benefits and the realities of launching and sustaining these programs, including addressing financial constraints and securing leadership buy-in. They will also share how these programs have helped team members build stronger relationships, enhance their professional skills, and bring invaluable benefits to the communities they serve. You’ll take away insights and best practices for designing and implementing a peer coaching program in your organization.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

The Value of Home-Based Caregivers: Using Evidence to Drive Policy Change

Home-based care is integral to the aging services sector. Yet professional caregivers who work in clients’ homes often feel undervalued by the public, providers, policymakers, and consumers. This session will explore how results from a randomized controlled trial of aides caring for community-dwelling older adults with heart failure could shift those perceptions. Researchers found that an education and communication intervention improved aides' self-efficacy and knowledge, resulting in fewer self-reported, preventable 911 calls and potentially saving health care dollars. Presenters will discuss how these positive findings demonstrate the value of home-based caregivers and could inform federal and state policy recommendations for home care, home health, and the direct care workforce.