Everyone deserves quality health care and sufficient resources to be able keep a roof over their heads, pay for food and medicine, and meet their other basic needs. But in America today that vision is out of reach for nearly half of older adults. Our approach to advocacy directly improves the lives of millions of older adults. We train thousands of individual advocates, providing information on emerging legal issues. Through our relationships with these on-the-ground partners, we learn about systemic issues and work to address them through legislative and administrative advocacy. If those methods fail to bring about the change we seek, we use impact litigation to advance justice.
Older adults with Medicare spend
an average of $5,368 a year on
out-of-pocket costs and most
have no long-term care coverage. We protect & improve programs that make health care more affordable & break down barriers to services so that older people can age at home
and in their communities.
Nearly 5 million older Americans
live on less than $1,000 a month.
We expand access to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Housing programs that
help older adults meet their basic
needs. And we address systemic barriers that make it difficult for seniors to access these programs.
As the only national organization focused on solely on senior poverty, Justice in Aging
is there as a champion in the courts for those who
have been marginalized and excluded from justice.
Working in partnership with advocates and pro bono attorneys at the nation's top law firms, we’ve returned billions in benefits to
older adults with limited resources.
Ortencia was a kindergarten schoolteacher who must now plan each meal in order to stretch a meager monthly income to cover rent, food, utilities, medication, transportation, and other expenses. Bill worked various jobs in San Francisco for 30 years before being diagnosed with a chronic disease and becoming homeless for the first time at 59 years old.
Learn more about their stories, and the struggles they and many other older Americans face in accessing the health care and the resources we need to thrive. And find out more about how Justice in Aging’s advocacy is helping to build a system where all of us will have an opportunity to age with justice and dignity.
In January 2021, Governor Newsom released California’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA), which lays out a ten-year plan to prepare the state for an aging
People dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal, including Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMBs), have special protections against charges for Medicare co-payments and co-insurance. Yet, many times dually
KTVU Fox 2 Bay Area: Many Seniors Working Through the Pandemic Can’t Afford to Retire (April 26, 2021) Seniors who are too poor to retire
WebMD: Lost in Translation: Language Barriers Hinder Vaccine Access (April 23, 2021) Lack of language access to vaccine information wasn’t necessarily the result of poor pandemic planning.
The American Prospect: The Longest 80 Miles: How Nursing Home Evictions Tear Families Apart (April 21, 2021) It’s incredibly easy to grow old and die
We are relieved that, this time, a member of law enforcement has been held accountable for taking the life of a Black man in cold
The opportunity to live with dignity, regardless of financial circumstances—free from the worry, harm, and injustice caused by lack of health care, food, or a safe place to sleep. By using the power of law to strengthen the social safety net, and remove the barriers low-income seniors face in trying to access the services they need, we work to ensure the future we all envision for our loved ones and ourselves.
© 2020 JUSTICE IN AGING
