Invest in the OAA

You don't hear much about the Older Americans Act (OAA).  Perhaps, that's because it's a small part of the budget; it's $2.3 billion budget accounts for just 0.06 percent of the federal budget.  The act was created in 1965, at the same time as Medicare and Medicaid.  It provides federal funding for essential senior services like job training, caregiver support, transportation, preventative healthcare, meals and protection from abuse and financial exploitation. The funds expended under the act have proven to be a good investment as the results of its programs have meant lower costs for Medicare and Medicaid.

Some examples of the ROI from OAA funds:

• Enabling seniors to continue living at home means fewer stays in hospitals and nursing homes saving a substantial amount
• Programs to reduce the incidences of falling - a major problem for the elderly - have reduced falls by more htan 30%.
• For every $1 in federal spending on Meals on Wheels, there is as much as a $50 return in Medicaid savings alone.

Funding for the act does not appear to have kept pace with inflation and our growing populations of seniors; it is expected that the senior population will double to more than 70 million people by 2030.  And the economy is not great; the recession caused median wealth for people between ages 55 and 74 to decline by approximately 15 percent, and for those over 65—many of whom now need to continue working or go back to work just to stay afloat—unemployment is at its highest rate since the Great Depression.

A quote from Elizabeth Warren: “What is our measurement of who we are as a people other than how we treat those who are more vulnerable?  This is a place where good economics merges with the decisions that are right for us as a country.”