Too many seniors who worked all their lives, cared for family members, and contributed to our society are struggling with poverty and economic insecurity and scrimping to pay for health care and food. Record numbers are becoming homeless. 7.1 million seniors are living in poverty and almost double that number economically insecure. Instead of helping, the Trump Administration has proposed harmful changes to the way the federal poverty line is calculated. This is a naked attempt to limit the number of people who can receive the help they need to meet their basic needs from various programs—many of which are programs seniors rely on for health care, food, and other basics.
If enacted, this rule would cause many more seniors to go hungry, become homeless, or lose health care services through Medicaid and other low-income programs. We cannot let the Trump Administration redefine poverty to exclude even more people who clearly need our support. The comment deadline was June 21. We will provide updates if the rule is changed, enacted, or withdrawn.
Programs for older adults that would be impacted:
- Medicaid
- Medicare low-income subsidies for prescription drug coverage
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Legal Services
- Senior Community Service Employment Program
- Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion Programs
Take Action
Use our template comments to create your own comment to submit to Regulations.gov.
Join the conversation on Social Media using #RedefiningPoverty.
Other Resources
Check out our senior poverty page for issue briefs, videos and more focusing on older adults in poverty.
