From DC is Justice in Aging’s weekly roundup of national news and resources about issues impacting older adults. To receive From DC in your inbox as soon as its published, sign up for our mailing list.
Here’s what we’re watching in Washington:
Continuing Resolution Temporarily Funds, but Also Excludes, Key Programs
At the end of last year, Congress passed a temporary spending bill (known as a continuing resolution, or CR) to extend funding for the federal government into March 2025. This bill provides short-term funding for vital programs for older adults and people with disabilities, but it also failed to include critical provisions.
Among positive highlights, the CR ensures:
- Sufficient funding to maintain current levels of federal rental assistance.
- An extension of funding for outreach and enrollment assistance for low-income Medicare enrollees.
However, the CR left out important proposals and programs, including:
- Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). OAA programs support the health, dignity, and independence of older adults and include legal assistance, nutrition services, senior center programs, caregiver support, and more.
- Policies that would support access to Medicaid home- and community-based services, improve language access in telehealth, and eliminate cost sharing for all generic prescription drugs for people with the Part D Low-Income Subsidy.
In the coming year, Justice in Aging will continue to urge Congress to reauthorize the OAA and to protect housing, health, and other programs for low-income older adults. Read more about areas where older adults need our advocacy in 2025 and how cuts to Medicaid would harm older adults.
HUD Releases 2024 Data Showing Rise in Homelessness
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently published Part 1 of the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. This report includes national estimates from Point-in-Time (PIT) counts of unsheltered and sheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024.
Compared to 2023, the number of unhoused people increased by 18% reaching an all-time high of over 771,000 individuals, reflecting the need for increased investments in housing and homelessness assistance. Over 146,000 people, or approximately 19%, were age 55 or over. About half of these older adults were unsheltered.
Learn about connecting older adults to HUD homeless assistance programs and Justice in Aging’s work on homelessness prevention.
Federal Court Upholds Nursing Facility Residents’ Right to Transition to Community-Based Settings
In late December, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision in the class action case, Brown, et al v. District of Columbia, ruling that the District had failed to inform Medicaid nursing facility residents that they could leave their facilities and instead receive home health services in their communities, and failed to connect these individuals with housing options and community-based services to ease their transitions.
The court ruled that D.C.’s failures violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) integration mandate and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead v. LC decision. It also ordered the District to develop and implement a system to help nursing facility residents transition to community-based long-term care and serve people with disabilities in the most integrated setting.
Social Security Fairness Act Signed into Law
On January 5, President Biden signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act which will end a practice that reduced Social Security benefits for workers who received certain types of pension income, including from state and local public pensions.
Individuals receiving a public pension who are interested in filing for Social Security benefits can go to the Social Security Administration (SSA) website to learn more, file online, or schedule an appointment with their local SSA office.
New Justice in Aging Resources
- Blog: Traditional Health Care for Tribal Elders Through Special Medicaid Waivers (01/9)
- Issue Brief: Supporting Tribal Elders Through the Older Americans Act (01/9)
- Alert: Medicare Observation Status and Appeals Resources and Webinar (01/7)
- Fact Sheet: Medi-Cal Policies Enhancing Housing Security Among Older Adults (12/23)
- Fact Sheet: Two New California Policies Simplify Access to Medicare Financial Assistance (12/19)
- Fact Sheet: Cutting Medicaid Harms Older Adults No Matter How It’s Sliced (12/18)
- Blog: Important Update: Medicare Enrollees Could Lose Financial Assistance for Drug Costs if They Do Not Act (12/12)
- Fact Sheet: New CMS Nursing Facility Guidance Confirms Rights to Reject Medications and Avoid Improper Financial Liability (12/5)
- Fact Sheet: Advocating for Older Adults in 2025 – Health and Long-Term Services & Supports (12/4)
- Fact Sheet: Advocating for Older Adults in 2025 – Economic Security & Housing (12/4)
Upcoming Justice in Aging Webinars
- Equitable Guardianship Reform: Recommendations for Advancing Equity in the Guardianship System (01/14)
- Legislative Advocacy 101: Prepare for California’s Upcoming Legislative Session (01/16)
Justice in Aging Webinar Recordings
- The New Medicaid Access Rule: Primer and Advocacy Strategies (12/17)
- Protecting Older Homeowners from Wrongful Foreclosure and Predatory Lending Scams (12/5)
New from the National Center on Law & Elder Rights (NCLER)
On January 21st, NCLER will host a training on Elder Abuse Representation 101: Case and Client Management. This is the first training in a three-part series designed to provide legal and elder rights practitioners with the basic tools and civil legal strategies needed to help older adults who have experienced abuse. This webinar will focus on case and client management.