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This page is Justice in Aging’s clearinghouse for COVID-19 and Public Health Emergency Unwinding resources for advocates serving older adults. As the situation evolves, Justice in Aging will continue to gather and add trusted resources including new policy announcements, advocacy tips, and other actions you can take to ensure that the older adults you serve remain safe, healthy, and able to get what they need.
NCLER Chapter Summary: Unwinding the Public Health Emergency: Strategies for Advocates to Protect Medicaid Beneficiaries, May 2022
As states reopen and COVID-19 hospitalizations surge, some states are implementing illegal care rationing policies that are ageist, racist, and ableist. Justice in Aging is working with partners in various states to stop these policies and help states write policies that don’t discriminate.
General
Justice in Aging Complaint Regarding Idaho's Crisis Standard of Care, 9/22/2021
Justice in Aging Letter to Massachusetts on Age Based Bias in their CSC, 2/11/2021
Fact Sheet: Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients, 2/10/2021
Fact Sheet: Combatting Discriminatory Crisis Standards of Care, 9/2020
Webinar Recording: Combatting Discrimination in Access to Medical Care During COVID-19, 9/16/2020
Webinar Slides: Combatting Discrimination in Access to Medical Care During COVID-19, 9/16/2020
Statement: Justice in Aging Rejects Ruthless, Utilitarian Policies that Devalue the Lives of Older Adults, 4/4/2020
Arizona
California
Justice in Aging and Partner Press Release on CA Crisis Care Guidelines, 06/10/2020
Justice in Aging and Partner Summary of CA Crisis Care Guidelines, 06/2020
Letter to California Health and Human Services Agency Regarding Crisis Care Guidelines, 4/22/2020
Maryland
Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in a Pandemic: Recommended Framework for Maryland (created in collaboration with Maryland Healthcare Ethics Committee Network and Disability Rights Maryland, November 2021)
Letter to Maryland Governor Regarding the State’s Care Rationing Guidelines, 4/27/2020
Massachusetts
Letter to Massachusetts Attorney General re: Crisis Standards of Care, 6/8/2020
Letter to Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary re: Crisis Standards of Care, 06/05/2020
Oregon
Federal Civil Rights Complaint regarding Oregon’s Crisis Standard Guidance, 05/08/2020
Texas
Utah
Utah Crisis Standards of Care Guidelines, 11/12/2020
Justice in Aging and Partner Letter to OCR Director on Age Bias in Utah’s Crisis Standards, 9/02/2020
Justice in Aging and Partner Follow Up Letter to OCR Director on Age Bias in Utah’s Crisis Standards, 9/23/2020
Wisconsin
With more than 40% of all COVID-19 deaths across the country tied to nursing facilities, Justice in Aging is pushing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Congress to enact and enforce policies that protect nursing home residents and help keep them connected to their families during this difficult time.
A National Tragedy: COVID-19 in the Nation’s Nursing Homes, 3/31/21
Frequently Asked Questions: LTSS Visitation Rights & COVID-19, 12/20 (National Center on Law & Elder Rights)
CMS Issues New Visitation Guidance, 9/17/2020
Statement to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in Nursing Facilities, 6/11/2020 (Eric Carlson)
Letter to CMS re Ongoing Problems in Response to COVID-19 Emergency in Nursing Facilities, 6/9/2020
Letter to Senate Leadership Opposing Immunity for Nursing Homes During COVID-19, 5/28/2020
Statement Calling on CMS to Publish Guidance on Transparency for Nursing Facilities, 4/21/2020
CMS Issues Stricter Guidance on Nursing Facility Visits, 3/16/2020
Justice in Aging is pushing Congress to pass relief packages that will help older adults, who are most impacted by this pandemic, weather the crisis.
Advocates Letter to HHS and CMS Urging Better Medicare Coverage of COVID Services, 1/24/2022
Summary: The American Rescue Plan: What's in it for older adults, 3/16/2021
The December 2020 COVID Relief & Omnibus Spending Bill: What Advocates for Older Adults Need to Know, 1/11/2021
Letter from Aging Advocates to Biden-Harris COVID-19 Advisory Board, 12/03/20
Fact Sheet: How the ACA is Helping the Older Adults Most Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, 7/20
Justice in Aging Comments for Vaccine Allocation Framework, 9/4/2020
What Older Adults Need From Congress, 7/15/2020
Joint Letter to Congress on COVID-19 Language Access and Communications Concerns, 05/29/2020
Urgent Needs of Low-Income Older Adults During COVID-19 Crisis, 4/16/20
The “CARES Act:” What’s in It & What’s Missing, 3/31/2020
Justice in Aging Asks of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services During COVID-19, 3/25/2020
Social Security Administration Response to COVID-19, 3/23/2020
Older Adults Advocates to Congress on COVID-19 Response, 3/18/2020
In California, we are working with state leaders to ensure that the state collects and releases demographic data on COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, and we succeeded in getting the state to rewrite its care rationing standards in ways that don’t discriminate on the basis of age and disability.
Fact Sheet: California’s State Stimulus & Low-Income Seniors, September 2021
Vaccinations for Older Adults in CA: What We Know Now
Justice in Aging and Partner Press Release on CA Hospital Support Person Policies, 08/27/2020
Primer: Medicare and People Leaving Incarceration, 08/2020
Letter to California Department of Public Health re: Data in Congregate Settings, 06/29/2020
Justice in Aging and Partner Press Release on CA Crisis Care Guidelines, 06/10/2020
Justice in Aging and Partner Summary of CA Crisis Care Guidelines, 06/2020
Budget May Revision: Statement and Analysis Calling on the Legislature to Reject Major Cuts to the Programs that Serve Older Adults
Letter to California Health and Human Services Agency Regarding Crisis Care Guidelines, 4/22/2020
California Medicare-Medicaid Plan Flexibilities Related to COVID-19, 3/20/20
Letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on Actions California Must Take, 3/19/2020
DHCS Redetermination Guidance, DHCS, 3/12/2020
State Health & Emergency Officials Encourage Individuals at Higher Risk of Severe Illness due to COVID-19 to Take Precautions, California Department of Public Health, 3/9/2020
DHCS COVID Response, California Department of Health Care Services, Updated regularly
Community Care Licensing Division: Provider Information Notices, CDSS
Justice in Aging and the National Center on Law & Elder Rights have created a number of timely trainings and resources to help advocates serve their older adult clients during the COVID-19 crisis.
Fact Sheet: SSI Exclusion for Pandemic Related Financial Assistance, June 2022
Issue Brief: Do you Think Older Renters on a Fixed Income Can’t get Help with Back Rent? Think Again!, 9/29/2021
How the ACA is Helping Older Adults During COVID-19, 6/25/2020
COVID-19 Advocacy Toolkit for Older Adults, 5/6/2020
Practice Tip: New COVID-19 Medicare Enrollment Information, 05/2020
How States are Modifying HCBS Programs to Address COVID-19 Emergency, (information and frequently updated table)
Justice in Aging Statement on Opening Too Soon, 5/5/2020
Template Letter to Congress Asking for Inclusion of Low-Income Seniors in COVID-19 Response, 5/4/2020
Life at the Intersection: Older Adults Need a Response to Covid-19 Grounded in Equity, 3/27/2020
Legal Assistance & COVID-19, 3/18/2020
Justice in Aging Statement on the Need for Social Distancing, 3/13/2020
Justice in Aging Statement, 3/11/2020
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Stimulus Payments – Recovery Rebates Q&A, The Arc
Supporting Communication with Patients who have COVID-19, Patient Provider Communication
Helpline for Older Adults in 8 Languages, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
In Language Resources for Asian Americans and Asian American Pacific Islanders, Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum, 3/16/2020
Webinar Trainings
CARES Economic Impact Payment, 5/1/2020 (Justice in Aging with Disability Rights California)
Medicare Coverage and COVID-19, 04/14/2020 (Download the PowerPoint)
New Policies Related to COVID-19 at SSA, 04/10/2020 (Download the PowerPoint)
Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living During the COVID-19 Emergency, 04/3/2020 (Download the Powerpoint, Read the Issue Brief)
Strategies for Providing Remote Legal Services to Older Adults, 3/25/2020
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.
© 2022 JUSTICE IN AGING
