From DC: Marking Medicare/Medicaid 60th, Justice in Aging Files HCBS Brief, DOJ Civil Rights Guidance

August 1, 2025

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:

Marking the 60th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid

July 30th marked the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. Justice in Aging celebrates this milestone clear-eyed that we must fight to protect and strengthen these programs.

Over the last week, Justice in Aging joined partners across the country in a 60-hour vigil to uplift the stories of people who rely on Medicaid and gathered with thought leaders to renew our shared commitment to fulfilling the promise of Medicare and Medicaid. We are working to repeal the recently enacted cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, mitigate the harms to older adults, and strengthen our advocacy to make these programs affordable and comprehensive for older adults with limited income.

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats introduced the “Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act.” This legislation would repeal the health care provisions in the budget reconciliation act (H.R. 1), which cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It would also permanently expand the ACA enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire in December. Without these enhanced tax credits, older adults ages 50 to 64 will see their ACA premiums skyrocket in 2026.

Learn more in our analysis of the Medicaid and Medicare provisions of the final budget reconciliation act impacting low-income older adults. And join us for a webinar on August 13th to learn about actions advocates can take in the near term to mitigate the harm to older adults.

Justice in Aging Files Amicus Brief in HCBS Case

This week, Justice in Aging partnered with civil rights law firm Fox & Robertson to file an amicus brief on behalf of Justice in Aging, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, the Center for Public Representation, Disability Law United, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, and the National Health Law Program in a federal lawsuit in New Hampshire to ensure that recipients of Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) receive the care they need to live safely in their communities.

In this class-action case, HCBS program participants argue that the state’s maladministration of its HCBS program causes widespread instances of people going without essential community-based care, both harming them directly and causing an increased risk that they will be subjected to institutionalization in a nursing facility.

Our brief urges to court to uphold longstanding precedent and federal guidance establishing that the risk of unnecessary isolation of people in institutions constitutes discrimination on the basis of disability, which can be effectively remedied through nondiscriminatory administration of HCBS programs.

Read more in our amicus brief for Fitzmorris v. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and visit our website to learn about our ongoing litigation to ensure older adults receive quality long-term care.

DOJ Issues New Guidance on Civil Rights Laws for Federal Funding Recipients

This week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released new guidance clarifying its interpretation of how federal civil rights laws apply to all programs or initiatives that receive federal funds. This guidance follows the administration’s continued attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and other efforts that aim to remedy systemic inequities.

Despite acknowledging the guidance is non-binding and intended to merely identify what the administration views as “best practices,” it labels specific types of efforts as potentially “unlawful preferential treatment.” Such efforts include culturally competency training requirements for employees, gender-inclusive bathroom policies, and more. Meanwhile, the federal civil rights laws cited by the guidance remain unchanged.

Justice in Aging will continue to monitor DOJ’s implementation of this guidance and work to ensure older adults are protected from its potentially harmful impacts.