The Older Americans Act, the umbrella federal law that includes programs such as Meals on Wheels, senior transportation, information services, adult day, and caregiver support was hours from being expanded and winning congressional approval for another five years. Now, its fate has become far more uncertain. Its all because the OAA, despite broad bipartisan congressional support, got caught up in [...]
What will last Tuesday’s election mean for older adults and their families? A slim Democratic majority in the Senate combined with what is likely to be narrow Republican control of the House likely means no new legislative initiatives will pass Congress in 2023. The Biden Administration’s ambitious plan to support frail older adults and their families is dead, at least [...]
The huge 2018 budget bill Congress passed last week includes significant new money for dementia research and modest additional funding for many programs aimed at assisting frail older adults. The final $1.3 trillion bill was a dramatic about-face for President Trump and House Republicans, whose own budget plans would have slashed or even eliminated funding for many seniors’ programs. The [...]
While most proposals in President Trump’s newly released 2019 budget are unlikely to become law, the fiscal framework does show the White House’s priorities for government over the coming year. And those apparently don’t include support for older adults, younger people with disabilities, or their families. For example, the budget would: Restructure the Medicare drug benefit to reduce costs for [...]
Congress took two big steps this week that could have a major impact on seniors and younger people with disabilities. The one that got the most attention, of course, was the Senate’s failure to pass a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. The second, which was barely noticed, was a series of key decisions by House Republicans on how much [...]
The best that can be said about President Trump’s 2018 budget and older adults: It could have been worse. In a fiscal plan focused on historic domestic spending cuts, programs for older adults were hit by substantial reductions, though not slashed as deeply as other domestic programs. Medicare was largely untouched. So was Social Security for seniors, although Trump would [...]
Congress and President Trump took dead aim at seniors and younger people with disabilities this week. First, Congress voted to cut or freeze funding for key federal senior service programs. Then the House passed its bill to replace the Affordable Care Act—a measure that would make health insurance unaffordable for many people aged 50-64, allow insurance companies to sell policies [...]
The election of Donald Trump, along with continued Republican majorities in the House and Senate, will likely result in major cuts in federal programs that benefit older adults and younger people with disabilities. Some of the programs that could be targeted: Medicaid, important reforms in the way health care is delivered through Medicare, and services funded through the Older Americans [...]
Do you understand Medicare? Of course you don’t. Neither does anybody else. So why would Congress abolish a modest federal program that pays for actual human beings who can explain it to confused consumers? Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee essentially voted to abolish the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) by quietly eliminating the entire $52.1 million in federal [...]
Most of us, most of the time, want to age at home. But the reality is not everyone can, or should. Sometimes staying in your own home as you become increasingly frail is a poor choice. It can be lonely and even dangerous. It can burn out family caregivers. And it even can be more costly than other options, especially [...]