Rick Scott Leads Senate Aging Committee Hearing About The Older Americans Act

The Senate Aging Committee held a hearing entitled, "Renewing Our Commitment: How the Older Americans Act Uplifts Families Living with Aging-Related Diseases." 

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Rick Scott Leads Senate Aging Committee Hearing About The Older Americans Act

The Older Americans Act Is Up for Renewal: Why That Matters

By Lee Pruitt

Since its enactment in 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) has guided the priorities and operations of key programs and services for the benefit of older adults across the United States. The OAA's primary objective is to promote the well-being, dignity, and independence of older Americans. By providing billions of dollars in funding for essential services, the OAA helps seniors live in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

The OAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, currently awaiting legislative action, has brought renewed attention to the challenges faced by seniors in our communities and the resources needed to support them.

History of the Older Americans Act

The OAA created a nationwide aging network, including Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and local service providers, to deliver vital services to senior Americans. These services include transportation, caregiver support, nutrition programs, legal assistance, and health promotion and disease prevention. The goal of these services is to reduce the need for institutional care by helping older adults stay active and engaged in their communities.

The OAA has been reauthorized multiple times since its inception, with each reauthorization reflecting evolving needs, priorities, and demographic changes. Its most recent renewal was in 2020, with the last substantial update taking place in 1988. Reauthorizations typically update funding levels, introduce new programs, and refine existing ones to better serve older adults.

Key Provisions of the 2024 Reauthorization

Now approaching its 60th anniversary, the OAA introduces in its 2024 reauthorization several significant updates aimed at addressing current challenges and future demands of the nation’s seniors. Among other changes, the final rule:

• Clarifies requirements for state and local plans on aging
• Clarifies requirements for coordination among state, local, and tribal programs
• Improves consistency of definitions and operations between state and tribal OAA programs
• Specifies the broad range of individuals who can receive services and how funds can be used
• Clarifies required state and local agency policies and procedures, such as expectations regarding conflicts of interest
• Addresses emergency preparedness and response, based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic
• Establishes expectations for legal assistance and activities to prevent elder abuse
• Updates definitions, modernizes requirements, and clarifies flexibilities within the senior nutrition programs, such as allowing for continuation of innovations used during the COVID-19 pandemic, including some carry-out meals that are provided under the congregate meals program

The Importance of the 2024 Reauthorization

The 2024 reauthorization of the OAA comes at an important time. The aging population in the U.S. continues to grow. According to the National Council on Aging, the number of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to reach about 78 million by 2040.

This demographic shift presents both challenges and opportunities. Older adults contribute significantly to their communities as volunteers, caregivers, and mentors. At the same time, however, as this age group grows, so does the need for services that support their health, independence, and quality of life.

The 2024 OAA reauthorization reflects a holistic approach to aging, recognizing that older adults need more than just health care to thrive. By addressing social, economic, and health-related factors, the OAA aims to create a society where older adults can age with dignity and security. Additionally, the emphasis on caregiver support and equitable service delivery ensures that communities are better equipped to provide the necessary care and assistance.

Lawmakers have yet to agree on a year-end omnibus package – and failing to finalize the OAA bill as part of that may have negative repercussions for funding that helps support various OAA-sponsored programs for seniors. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the OAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 would allot about $15 billion for these programs from 2025 to 2029.

Learn More About the OAA’s 2024 Updates

Learn more about the 2024 Final Rule for the Older Americans Act on the Administration for Community Living's website. You can also contact an experienced elder law attorney near you. They can discuss your specific situation and potential options with you.

For additional reading on topics related to older Americans as well as various programs supported by the OAA, check out the following articles:

• Free and Inexpensive Meal Delivery Options for Older Adults
• Getting Help When Providing Care at Home for Aging Parents
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman: A Front-Line Advocate for Nursing Home Residents
• Report Shows Spectrum of Needs Among Older Americans
• Elder Financial Abuse: How an Elder Law Attorney Can Help With Elder Abuse Prevention
• 2023 Senior Health Report: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  

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The Older Americans Act Is Up for Renewal: Why That Matters

Casey, Kaine Introduce Bill to Strengthen Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents

July 23, 2024

The Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act would bolster the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program

Long-Term Care Ombudsmen advocate for long-term care residents and monitor conditions and care within long-term care facilities

Casey has long been one of the Senate’s leading advocates for long-term care residents

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act to improve the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, which was established under the Older Americans Act. Local Ombudsman programs designate staff and trained volunteers as representatives to advocate for residents of nursing homes and other long-term care (LTC) facilities, providing residents and their families with confidential information and assistance and monitoring conditions and care within a facility. With a growing number of older adults residing in long-term care facilities, Ombudsman program staff and volunteers face challenges to ensuring residents receive the care they deserve and have their rights protected.

“Long-term care ombudsmen are vital to ensuring that residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have advocates who can represent their interests and can push for better care and conditions,” said Senator Casey. “Senator Kaine and I are introducing this bill to strengthen the Ombudsman Program and ensure that it has the resources, leadership, and personnel to continue its critical work safeguarding the Nation’s residents of long-term care facilities.”

“Older Americans deserve to age with dignity, but sadly, we continue to see reports of abuses at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities,” said Senator Kaine. “I’m introducing this legislation to strengthen the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program and help ensure that older Virginians and people with disabilities living in long-term care facilities continue to have trained professionals able to advocate for them, address their complaints, and help ensure they have access to safe, quality care.”

In 2023, nearly 5,400 Ombudsman program staff and volunteers conducted over 340,000 visits to long-term care facilities, assisting over 500,000 residents and their families.

The Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act would improve the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program by:

• Instructing the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to establish categories of duties for volunteers and appropriate training requirements for volunteers based on those categories. Training guidelines should reflect the diversity of volunteer contributions to the Ombudsman program. This will make it easier to recruit and retain more Ombudsman program volunteers and continue to ensure volunteers have the appropriate training they need.
• Reaffirming Congress’ intent that the Ombudsman program should be led by a full-time National Director. In 2019, reorganization under the Trump Administration resulted in the loss of this position. State and local ombudsmen have reported that the lack of a National Director impedes coordination and distracts from the mission of the program.
• Requiring the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) to study and issue a report with a recommendation for the number of ombudsmen per LTC facility bed. This would give states and ACL better insight into the current needs of the program. In 1995, the Institute of Medicine (now part of NASEM) released a report recommending a staffing ratio of one ombudsman per 2,000 beds for the Ombudsman program. This staffing ratio has not been updated in the nearly 30 years since and current data indicates that caseloads far exceed that threshold.

Senator Casey has long been one of the Senate’s strongest advocates for Americans in long-term care facilities. Earlier this Congress, Senator Casey released a report entitled, Uninspected and Neglected, which demonstrated the critical role Ombudsman program staff play in safeguarding nursing home residents. In addition, Senator Casey introduced the Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act, a landmark piece of legislation that would invest billions of dollars in bolstering the LTC workforce, thus ensuring those providing care are fairly compensated and supported in the workplace. Senator Casey is also leading the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act this year and held a hearing in May 2024 to discuss reauthorization priorities, which include bolstering the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. The Connecticut State Ombudsman served as a witness at the hearing.

Read more about the Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act here.

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Casey, Kaine Introduce Bill to Strengthen Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents

Older Americans Act reauthorization signed into law

by Lois A. Bowers

H.R. 4334, the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020, was written by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA), pictured here.

President Trump reauthorized the Older Americans Act for five years on Wednesday, signing into law H.R. 4334, the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020. The OAA was last reauthorized in 2016 under President Obama.

“This bipartisan legislation will help ensure that the OAA continues to match the goals we set to permit seniors to age with dignity, respect and community,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who authored the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).

Since 1965, the OAA has supported older adults through programs designed to prevent abuse and neglect, support caregivers, offer employment and community service opportunities, promote nutrition (for instance, through Meals on Wheels) and improve transportation options. The Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 includes a 7% increase in funding in the initial year and a 6% increase annually for the remainder of the authorization.

The OAA serves more than 10 million older Americans annually, said Casey, ranking member of the Aging Committee. “It represents our commitment to the generations who made us who we are today and lifts up the seniors who need our help the most,” he said.

Services are provided through 56 State Units on Aging and more than 600 Area Agencies on Aging.

Debra Whitman, chair of Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, a coalition that includes LeadingAge and AMDA-Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, said the group “welcomes the unanimous reauthorization of the Older Americans Act like a fresh breath of spring.”

Elder advocacy group SAGE said the act is the first bipartisan piece of LGBT-inclusive legislation to become law during the Trump administration. The reauthorization will hold state and local departments of aging accountable for undertaking outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults who need services in their communities, according to the organization. “It also will hold them responsible for engaging in both data collection and reporting on the needs of LGBT older people and whether they are meeting those needs,” SAGE said.

The legislation, according to the senators, ensures that those living with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease are included in key OAA services; improves elder abuse prevention activities through increased outreach and education activities; increases the focus on addressing detrimental impacts of social isolation; promotes multigenerational programming; advances support for age-friendly communities; improves the availability of transportation resources to seniors; extends the RAISE Family Caregivers Act for an additional year, extends the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Council for one year; enhances flexibility for states to better address the needs of grandparents raising grandchildren; increases transparency of home-modification opportunities for eligible older adults; upgrades data collection methods to understand unmet need in nutrition programs; and bolsters innovation in the OAA through evaluation of demonstrations and existing programs.

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Older Americans Act reauthorization signed into law

Collins, Casey Bill to Reauthorize Older Americans Act Passes Senate Unanimously

The landmark law supports community-based and nutrition services for older adults and their caregivers and is critical to improving the lives of seniors

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Supporting Older Americans Act.  The bipartisan legislation, authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Aging Committee, would reauthorize and strengthen the Older Americans Act (OAA), the nation’s preeminent law focused on the wellbeing of seniors.  The bill has now been sent to the House for its consideration before heading to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Since 1965, the OAA has supported and improved the lives of seniors—particularly those who are low-income—through programs that promote nutrition (e.g. Meals on Wheels), improve transportation options, support caregivers, offer employment and community service opportunities, and prevent abuse and neglect.  This critical law was last reauthorized in 2016.

“For more than half a century, the Older Americans Act has served as a lifeline for millions of seniors by enriching their lives and improving their overall health,” said Senator Collins.  “This bipartisan legislation will help ensure that the OAA continues to match the goals we set to permit seniors to age with dignity, respect, and community.  As Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, it is one of my highest priorities to get this bill across the finish line to strengthen the OAA’s programs while providing more flexibility for states to meet local needs.  I am pleased that the Senate unanimously passed our legislation, and I urge the House to approve it swiftly so that it can be enacted into law.”

“The Older Americans Act serves more than 10 million Americans each year, including 400,000 people throughout Pennsylvania. It represents our commitment to the generations who made us who we are today and lifts up the seniors who need our help the most. I’m pleased that this bill has broad bipartisan support in the Senate and look forward to getting this bill signed into law,” said Senator Casey. “This legislation will direct resources to support grandparents and older relative caregivers as well as multigenerational engagement and will ensure that our Area Agencies on Aging are prepared to meet seniors where they are – in their homes and communities.”

“On behalf of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), we appreciate the bipartisan, and bicameral proposal to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA),” said Debra Whitman, Chair of LCAO, the coalition of national nonprofit organizations working on behalf of America’s older adults.  “We enthusiastically endorse the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020, H.R. 4334, and look forward to its passage to support our growing aging population and help assure their healthy longevity.”

  

“The Supporting Older Americans Act builds on OAA’s powerful legacy of providing our loved ones with the support they need to live independently and with dignity as they age,” said Megan O’Reilly, Vice President for AARP Government Affairs, Federal Health and Family. “Over the years, OAA has helped so many older Americans across the nation stay in their communities among friends, neighbors, and family through caregiver support, home-delivered meals, and transportation. AARP commends Special Committee on Aging Chair Susan Collins and Ranking Member Bob Casey for their leadership in ushering the bipartisan reauthorization of this legislation across the finish line in the Senate.”

“n4a is thrilled that the Senate has passed the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020,” said n4a CEO Sandy Markwood. “This bill is the result of months of negotiations among Senate and House leadership, as well as aging policy advocates and n4a members here in Washington and around the country. For more than 50 years, the Older Americans Act has funded services that support older adults and enhance their ability to continue living in the community. These programs reduce the likelihood that older adults will experience hunger, malnutrition, social isolation and elder abuse. The Older Americans Act also supports the continued ability of older adults and their caregivers to access services that provide transportation, caregiver supports, meals, in-home services and so many more programs that are essential to community living.”

"Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act is a great victory for the aging services network and those we serve, said Dyan Walsh, MSW, Executive Director of the Eastern Area Agency on Aging in Maine.  “There are many important provisions in the bill, not the least of which is the focus on research to study the negative consequences of social isolation and loneliness which impacts so many rural older adults.   We look to the future with a renewed focus to integrate innovative strategies that will advance our mission to support communities and those who are the most vulnerable.”

Administered by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the OAA authorizes an array of services through a network of 56 State Units on Aging and more than 600 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) serving older Americans throughout the nation.

In the last year alone, OAA programs:

• Served more than 700,000 caregivers; and

• Provided seniors across the country with 358 million meals.

In addition to supporting seniors, OAA programs are cost effective.  The average cost of serving one senior Meals on Wheels for the entire year is $2,828, compared to the average of $2,424 it costs to stay for a single day in the hospital and the approximately $2,530 it costs to stay just ten days in in a semi-private room in a nursing home.  By providing seniors with a hot meal, the Older Americans Act improves nutrition and keeps seniors out of the hospital, allowing them to age in their homes and communities.  In fact, every $1 invested into the Older Americans Act generates $3 to help seniors stay at home and out of the hospital through low-cost, community-based services.

Specifically, the bipartisan bill would:

• Reauthorize the Older Americans Act for five years with funding levels that better meet the growing needs, including a 7 percent increase in the initial year, and 6 percent increase annually for the remainder of the authorization;
• Extend the RAISE Family Caregivers Act for one additional year;
• Extend the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Council for one year;
• Improve the availability of transportation resources to seniors;
• Enhance flexibility for states to better address the needs of grandparents raising grandchildren;
• Ensure that those living with younger onset Alzheimer’s disease are included in key OAA services;
• Increase the focus on addressing detrimental impacts of social isolation;
• Advance support for age-friendly communities.
• Improve elder abuse prevention activities through increased outreach and education activities.
• Increase transparency of home-modification opportunities for eligible older adults.
• Upgrade data collection methods to understand unmet need in nutrition programs.
• Promote multigenerational programming.
• Bolster innovation in the OAA through thoughtful evaluation of demonstrations and existing programs.

In May, Senators Collins and Casey held an Aging Committee hearing to highlight the importance of reauthorizing the OAA.  In December, Senator Collins spoke on the Senate floor in support of the OAA’s passage.

Senators Collins and Casey’s bill is cosponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Doug Jones (D-AL),  Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

This reauthorization is supported by more than 128 organizations including the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, AARP, the National Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), Advancing States, the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP), National Alliance for Caregiving, Meals on Wheels America, the Jewish Federations of North America, National Council on Aging (NCOA), and the Alzheimer’s Association.

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Collins, Casey Bill to Reauthorize Older Americans Act Passes Senate Unanimously

Statement from Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee welcoming passage of the Older Americans Act reauthorization

April 8, 2016

On behalf of older adults and those of us hoping to grow old, I am extremely grateful that the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) has been successfully passed by both the House and Senate. Older adults consistently express their personal desire to age in their homes and communities, surrounded by the people, places and activities that give their lives meaning. For more than 50 years, the OAA has provided support to make that dream a reality; from home delivered meals and exercise classes to legal services and case management. In every setting and through every advancing year, OAA services support health, dignity and independence.

I applaud the dedicated work of the national aging services network of states, tribes, area agencies on aging, long term care ombudsman, local services providers and volunteers who make successful aging possible. Their work with and on behalf of older adults and family caregivers makes a difference in millions of people’s lives each and every day.

Our country is growing old. By 2020, the older adult population will number more than 77 million.

One in every five people will be over the age of 60. And more than 34 million adult caregivers will provide uncompensated care to older adults. These numbers will continue to grow. The programs authorized by the Older Americans Act have never been more important to individuals, to families and to communities. The reauthorization of the Older Americans Act signals our commitment to the health and well-being of those of us aged and aging in America. The reauthorization is also a testament to the value of old age itself.

Kathy Greenlee
Assistant Secretary for Aging

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Statement from Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee welcoming passage of the Older Americans Act reauthorization

The Older Americans Act Finally Clears Congress

Congress finally just passed bipartisan legislation renewing the Older Americans Act for three years, sending it to President Obama for his certain signature. Passage comes almost 10 years since the Act was last reauthorized, a delay which has been a source of great consternation to older adults and their advocates.

Why should you care? Simply because the legislation keeps core Older Americans Act programs intact, while adding improvements to the law. In essence, the bill allows older adults to remain at home and in the community by providing them with necessary services to maintain their independence. The Older Americans Act also saves Medicaid and Medicare untold millions each year.

What’s In The Bill?

A key feature of the final bill: specific funding levels for the programs, authorizing an increase of 6% over the next three years. The bill also tweaked the formula for allocating funds to the states by allowing increases for states with growth in their 60+ population and minimizing any loss in funding to ones that lose population.

A few specifics of the legislation:
It will help feed America’s elderly poor. Among other things, it maintains separate federal funding for congregate- and home-delivered meals and will continue allowing the transfer of funds from the nutrition program to support other services, such as transportation.  (Continue Reading)

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The Older Americans Act Finally Clears Congress

Renewed efforts to reauthorize Older Americans Act will solidify services for older adults

Representing nearly 6,000 healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence, and quality of life of older adults, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) commends the U.S. House of Representatives on passing the Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act of 2015, key legislation to deliver social and protective services to older Americans through 2018.

Introduced by U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2015, the bill would strengthen landmark legislation originally passed in 1965--and overdue for reauthorization since 2011. Among other objectives, the legislation aims to address elder abuse; evidence-based care; effective coordination of services at the federal, state, and local levels; and several other challenges confronting older Americans and their healthcare professionals.

"The OAA reflects our national commitment to protect and provide for generations of older Americans who helped shape the society we now share," said AGS CEO Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA. "It's important that all branches of government stand behind legislation like the OAA, which reflects the attention and respect that older adults deserve."

With several minor revisions made in the House, the OAA Reauthorization Act of 2015 will now be sent back to the U.S. Senate for a final vote--the last hurdle on the road to implementation, but one that will still require sustained support from the public and health professionals alike, explains AGS President Steven R. Counsell, MD, AGSF.

"Reauthorizing the OAA is as important as ever to modernizing and improving the aging services network in our country. Progress has taken time, but it's happened because we've worked together to show Congress that reauthorization is a priority," Dr. Counsell observed.

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Renewed efforts to reauthorize Older Americans Act will solidify services for older adults

Seniors Grow Old Waiting for House to Act on Crucial Legislation

By Paul Downey

Last summer we applauded the Senate’s unanimous re-authorization of the Older Americans Act and expected the House to concur. Signed into law more than 50 years ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson, this significant piece of legislation has contributed to the economic well-being and quality of life for millions of our most vulnerable seniors.

The OAA provides funding to community-based organizations that help nearly 12 million people annually with services such as home-delivered and congregate meals, caregiver support, preventive health, transportation, job training and elder abuse prevention. It is a lifeline for our most honored citizens providing them with the dignity that they have earned.

However, instead of celebrating Congressional re-authorization on the OAA’s 50th Anniversary, there has been no movement since being received by the House Education and the Workforce Committee six months ago. Two members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation — Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican, and Rep. Susan Davis, a Democrat – sit on this committee.

The last time Congress reauthorized the OAA was in 2006. The legislation expired in 2011 and although funding has been carried out through continuing resolutions, it has not been adjusted for inflation or the growing number of poor elderly Americans. Since 2006, the number of Americans over the age of 60 has grown by 20 percent. Congress has not kept pace with funding these critical senior programs — meaning less is being spent per capita on seniors today than in 2006.

This is an extremely shortsighted approach. Supporting the health, wellness and independence of our nation’s seniors should not be a political issue. 

Studies have shown malnourished seniors take more medication, have higher rates of chronic medical conditions, and are more likely to fall and break bones. In addition, Medicare and Medicaid are the primary funding sources for malnourished patients, who have hospital stays nearly twice as long as those of well-nourished patients. Simply put, investing in programs like senior nutrition keeps people healthy and ultimately reduces public healthcare costs. 

 

Please call, write or visit Hunter and Davis asking them to seek immediate action on OAA re-authorization in their House committee. While you are at it, reach out to the rest of the delegation and encourage them to step up and do right by our seniors. It is time to end partisan gridlock and fulfill America’s promise from 1965 to take care of elderly adults with the greatest social and economic needs.

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For two decades, Paul Downey has been the president and CEO of Serving Seniors, a nonprofit agency dedicated to increasing the quality of life for San Diego seniors living in poverty for the last 45 years.


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Seniors Grow Old Waiting for House to Act on Crucial Legislation