1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

HCBS in Flux: Threats and Opportunities

Home and community-based services (HCBS) play a significant role in meeting the expectations of the large number of older consumers who want to remain in their homes and communities as they age. Medicaid support is essential to making HCBS services accessible to those who need them. However, the reworking of state Medicaid programs following the 2025 passage of H.R. 1 will reshape HCBS for LeadingAge members and their local communities. This session will take a closer look at the evolving HCBS landscape, including state-level HCBS policy innovation. Policymakers and HCBS experts will also discuss trends in service availability and payers for home care, adult day, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, and personal care.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Redefining Wellness as Longevity for All

A growing number of longevity experts view wellness not as a program but as a lifestyle focused on extending the healthspan—the number of years individuals can live with physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. This is a welcome shift. However, providers of aging services must be careful to embrace the value of a long healthspan without reinforcing ageism or ableism. This session will explore how your organization can prioritize purpose, engagement, and belonging for all ages and abilities. You’ll learn to integrate wellness and longevity into organization-wide planning, respond to evolving wellness trends, and work with residents to co-create communities that help people thrive, not just age. Join thought leaders and innovators as they reimagine a future where every individual is represented and valued along the path to wellness.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Nursing Home Policy Update

The first year of the new federal administration brought significant changes that have reshaped the nursing home landscape. As a result, realignment of federal agencies and shifting policy priorities will affect day-to-day operations and the ability of nursing homes to enhance person-centered care, improve workforce recruitment and retention, ensure financial sustainability, and address regulatory challenges. This session will examine the events of the past year, focus on what lies ahead, assess federal priorities, and explore advocacy opportunities that can help shape the future of nursing homes.

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.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

What’s Next for Skilled Nursing?

Skilled nursing providers operate in an environment marked by constant change and undeniable pressures. Evolving reimbursement models, intensifying regulatory demands, workforce shortages, new care delivery models, and shifting consumer expectations make it immensely challenging to plan for the future while addressing current challenges. This session will feature a panel of LeadingAge members who are working to secure the future of their skilled nursing operations by leveraging strategic opportunities in the sector. They’ll show you how they responded to market pressures by shifting their priorities and making forward-looking decisions to ensure their skilled nursing operations remain viable, responsive, and positioned for the future.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

How is Your State Protecting Life Plan Community Consumers?

Curious which states have “on-the-books” protections for current and prospective residents of life plan communities? This session will offer a guided tour of how state statutes codify these protections. Presenters will examine statutory language across various areas, including residents’ rights related to annual fee increases, the right to organize and relocate, marketing materials and communication requirements, resident representation on boards of directors, grievances and arbitration, and ownership transitions. You’ll gain insight into unusual or notable statutory language that makes certain states examples to emulate—or to avoid. An expert panel will also discuss how current law and advocacy shape interactions between life plan communities and consumers, and the implications of this advocacy for life plan community leaders.

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.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

The Next Horizon for Emerging Technologies

Many emerging technologies have the potential to reshape how aging services organizations deliver care, engage residents, and manage their business operations. This session will preview these promising tools. Presenters will introduce you to sensor-based environments designed to enhance safety, independence, and proactive care; artificial intelligence-powered tools that can help you make better, faster decisions; engagement platforms that could reduce loneliness and support residents’ daily routines; and emerging health and wellness technologies that have the potential to enhance mental health, mobility, and well-being. Explore how these solutions are evolving, what needs they address, and how to evaluate them before adoption.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Generative AI: Change Agent in Aging Services

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is accelerating across the aging services sector, often in unplanned ways through tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. To make the most of this innovation, organizational leaders must be intentional about how they introduce AI in their workplaces and care settings. This session will explore the benefits of AI, including its ability to reduce administrative burden and mental load, support scheduling and staffing analysis, test ideas, rethink workflows, and facilitate personalized care. Equally important, presenters will share essential strategies to help you mitigate risks related to AI-related privacy, data use, bias, and human oversight. Join us to learn how AI can help your organization build capacity, resilience, and sustainable progress—and how you can intentionally guide its adoption.

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.

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.

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.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

HCBS in Flux: Threats and Opportunities

Home and community-based services (HCBS) play a significant role in meeting the expectations of the large number of older consumers who want to remain in their homes and communities as they age. Medicaid support is essential to making HCBS services accessible to those who need them. However, the reworking of state Medicaid programs following the 2025 passage of H.R. 1 will reshape HCBS for LeadingAge members and their local communities. This session will take a closer look at the evolving HCBS landscape, including state-level HCBS policy innovation. Policymakers and HCBS experts will also discuss trends in service availability and payers for home care, adult day, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, and personal care.

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.

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.

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.

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.