Connecticut adopted such a law,<\/a> and it allows long-term care facility residents, or their representative, to designate a primary and a secondary \u201cessential support person\u201d who is able to visit the resident despite general visitation restrictions for other visitors. It applies to people living in nursing homes and managed residential communities that provide assisted living services, records show.<\/a><\/p>\n But the law only applies to Connecticut and advocates believe it is necessary to enact a similar measure on the federal level.<\/p>\n \u201cI have head heartbreaking stories from constituents who were separated from their loved ones in long-term care during the pandemic, even families forced to miss a parent or grandparent\u2019s final moments,\u201d said U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., who supports the federal bill.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can never allow the isolation that took place to happen again. That\u2019s why I teamed up with Senator Blumenthal and our Republican colleague, Claudia Tenney from New York, on a bipartisan bill that guarantees visiting access during future emergencies and also protects the safety of nursing home residents,\u201d Larson said. \u201cCongress owes it to the steadfast advocates who have bravely come forward with their stories to pass the Essential Caregivers Act.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro, D-3, also said she has \u201cbeen a strong supporter of the Essential Caregivers Act because staff shortages and long-term care lockdowns have kept too many families apart at moments where close, compassionate care is most needed.<\/p>\n \u201cIrma\u2019s powerful advocacy, including testifying before the House Select Subcommittee on COVID-19, was a crucial step in raising awareness about this crisis and the devastating impacts it was having on people across the country. I am proud to stand with my constituent Irma and with every other American who just wants to help their family when they need it the most.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal bill<\/a> would direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services<\/a> to create uniform safety guidelines so essential caregivers could provide care, while protecting residents and staff, according to U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, NY-24, also a sponsor of the bill.<\/p>\n Specifically, congressional records show, the bill would prohibit certain health care facilities from \u201climiting the access of essential caregivers to residents of those facilities, including during designated emergency periods.\u201d<\/p>\n It would apply to Medicare skilled nursing facilities, Medicaid nursing facilities and Medicaid intermediate care facilities, the bill says.<\/p>\n The bill would allow facilities to restrict access during emergency periods for an initial period of up to seven days and for one additional maximum seven-day period, if approved by the state health department. It also would require essential caregivers to agree to comply with safety protocols set by the facility, \u201cwhich may be no more stringent for caregivers compared to those for staff. Caregivers who fail to comply with these requirements may be denied access, subject to an appeals process,\u201d the bill says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need to get this in place,\u201d Rappaport said. \u201cThis bill will acknowledge essential caregivers \u2026 it acknowledges they are essential to their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuman being are not meant to be alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mairead Painter, Connecticut\u2019s State Long Term Care Ombudsman,<\/a> agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it is an essential idea,\u201d Painter said of the bill.<\/p>\n Painter said she knows from experience the toll the pandemic and rules about entering facilities took on many people.<\/p>\n \u201cCaregiving from family members doesn\u2019t stop; their essential support system doesn\u2019t stop,\u201d she said. \u201cWe saw so many people negatively impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was devastating, it was one of the hardest points in my career overall \u2026 family friends, spiritual support, the desperation they were expressing and feeling,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Painter also noted that removing essential caregivers makes an impact on patients and staff of residential facilities. \u201cHow do you feed 15 people in a dignified way,\u201d she said, of an example of what can occur.<\/p>\n \u201cIn every single nursing home there are residents receiving care, their outside support system coming in to be able to provide ongoing care and support to the resident,\u201d Painter said. \u201cWe underestimate the number of those and the type of care and support that the external care members provide in long-term care setting.\u201d<\/p>\n She also pointed out that people do not lose their rights when they are in long-term care, and \u201cthey should not lose their independent voice of who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n Painter said the impact on staff also can be profound, as they \u201cwant to care for people \u2014 they want good outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n She noted in her online support of the bill<\/a> that, \u201cresidents often rely on specific individuals for practical support and advocacy, including help with meals and mobility, communication support, cultural and language continuity, oversight of care concerns, and emotional stability. Isolation is not a neutral policy choice. It can affect physical health, mental health, and overall quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Irma](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/thc-l-essentialcaregiver-0226-02.jpg\")
Irma Rappaport, an Orange resident, is among those fighting for a federal Essential Caregivers Act, which would assure that residents of long-term care can retain the right to in-person access to a designated essential caregiver. She is shown here advocating in Connecticut. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n![\"Senator](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/THC-L-Blumenthal-Larson-110225-02.jpg\")
Senator Richard Blumenthal endorsed Congressman John Larson on Sunday in West Hartford.<\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/THC-L-CT-Leaders-Reaction_11.jpg\")
U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (Aaron Flaum\/Courant file photo)<\/p>\n
![\"With](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GP5IWQPULVEXZOBJI2DEPN5VIA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n