About Liz Seegert
Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.
What’s really happening with aging policy in Washington? At last week’s annual Gerontological Society of America Conference in New Orleans, a standing-room-only audience was privy to updates from key Congressional committee staffers.
Erika Salway, policy adviser for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, discussed the committee’s work on issues affecting older adults, including federally qualified health centers, primary care, oral health, mental health and the Older Americans Act. Funding for the OAA is $1.8 billion, which may sound high, but she reminded the audience that its programs serve 10 million seniors every year and funding constitutes less than .06 percent of the federal budget. The OAA funds essential services such as Meals on Wheels, job training, caregiver support, transportation and elder abuse services. It expired in 2011 but continues to receive federal funds under the old legislative formula. Continue reading →
