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:
CBO Score of Final Budget Bill Affirms Devastating Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP
This week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published its cost estimate for the Budget Reconciliation Act (H.R. 1) as signed into law. This law makes the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance in history.
It will take health coverage from 10 million people, including many older adults and people with disabilities. An additional 5 million people are estimated to lose their Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage because of the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits. Without these tax credits, older adults will face skyrocketing premiums.
While the CBO score confirms the deep nature of these cuts in the final bill, it also highlights that our collective advocacy forced Congress to remove certain policies that will protect the health coverage of two million people.
Learn more in our analysis of the Medicaid and Medicare provisions of the final bill impacting low-income older adults, and register for our webinar on H.R. 1 on August 13th.
Join us today for the final day of the 60-hour vigil to protect Medicaid, followed by Families First rallies tomorrow across the U.S.
New Executive Order Promotes Institutionalization of People Experiencing Homelessness
Yesterday, the Trump Administration issued a new Executive Order (EO) promoting the involuntary institutionalization of people who are unhoused and have mental health conditions. Among other directives, the EO instructs the Attorney General to seek the reversal of federal and state judicial precedents that limit the civil commitment of people with mental health issues.
The EO also orders the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine whether HUD funding may be prioritized for localities that criminalize homelessness, and it directs HUD to end support for “Housing First” policies in its homeless assistance programs.
Housing First is a proven model that prioritizes access to permanent housing with supportive services, such as mental health treatment. This approach is based on evidence that when people have housing, they can more effectively engage in services to improve their health and housing stability.
Older adults are the fastest-growing group among people experiencing homelessness. This EO fails to address the root causes of homelessness, including the country’s severe lack of affordable housing and community-based services for low-income households. Recent unprecedented cuts to Medicaid and proposed cuts to federal rental assistance will only worsen the homelessness crisis for older adults.
Justice in Aging will monitor this EO’s impact on older adults and will share developments with our network.
CMS Making Efforts to Disenroll Individuals in More than one Medicaid or ACA Program
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced actions to terminate coverage for individuals who appear to be improperly enrolled in multiple Medicaid or Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. CMS states it has already identified 2.8 million people who appear to be enrolled in Medicaid in multiple states or both Medicaid and an ACA Marketplace plan with premium tax credits.
The reconciliation bill passed by Congress earlier this month gives CMS new authority to compile lists of people enrolled in Medicaid in multiple states and requires states to take corrective action, including termination. It does not require any notice or process protections for enrollees. At the same time, the law blocks provisions of the Streamlining Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Rule designed to prevent improper terminations.
CMS has already sent notices to individuals they identified as enrolled in both Medicaid and an ACA plan with premium tax credits, requiring them to take corrective actions or have their premium tax credits terminated within 30 days.
Advocates are concerned the data‐matching sources used by CMS, along with the limited timeline for notifying and disenrolling individuals, may lead to eligible individuals being improperly disenrolled from their Medicaid or ACA coverage.
Please contact Justice in Aging if you notice individuals having their coverage improperly terminated due to these efforts.
New Justice in Aging Resources
- Fact Sheet: Changes to Medicare’s Custody Definition Improve Access to Care for Older Adults Leaving Incarceration (7/21)
- Issue Brief: Medicare Special Enrollment Period for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals: What Advocates Need to Know (updated 7/21)
- Resource: Using Medi-Cal’s Housing-Related Services to Prevent and End Older Adult Homelessness (7/16)
- Statement: Justice in Aging’s Statement on Final Passage of Budget Bill (7/03)
- Statement: Statement from the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Justice in Aging and Medicare Rights Center on Passage of Devastating Cuts to Health and Nutrition Programs (7/03)
- Comment Letter: Justice in Aging Comments on Treasury E Checks RFI (6/30)
- Fact Sheet: Work Requirements Would Cut Medicaid for Older Adults (6/24)
- Comment Letter: Justice in Aging’s Comments on California Department of Aging’s Older Americans Act State Plan (6/18)
- Fact Sheet: Reconciliation Bill Attacks Health Coverage for Older Immigrants (6/18)
- Comment Letter: Justice in Aging’s Comments on Proposed Department of Energy Direct Final Rule for Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs or Activities (6/16)
- Statement: Justice in Aging Condemns Sharing Medicaid Enrollees’ Personal Data with Immigration Officials (6/16)
Justice in Aging Webinars
- Medicaid Cuts in H.R.1 – Updates for Aging Advocates (8/13)
- Bird’s Eye View: Issues Impacting Older Immigrants in 2025 (8/20)
