60 Years of the Older Americans Act: What’s in It for You?

The landmark law created a network of community-based support programs for older adults in the U.S.

Molly Snow,

AARP

Comments

En español

Published July 14, 2025

In the summer of 1965, as the world buzzed with news of men in space and Civil Rights marches across America, landmark legislation was passed to create a safety net for the nation’s older population and support aging in place.

Fast forward 60 years: The Older Americans Act continues to deliver essential services to older adults and family caregivers with the greatest economic and social needs.

The OAA uses federal funding to provide a variety of services for adults ages 60-plus and their family caregivers. These services include food assistance, community employment, advocacy for nursing home and assisted living residents, and elder abuse prevention efforts — to name a few.

State agencies oversee implementation, while more than 20,000 local organizations deliver services in their communities through grants.

Join Our Fight to Protect Older Americans

Here’s what you can do to help:

Sign up to become an AARP activist for the latest news and alerts on issues you care about.
Find out more about how we’re fighting for you every day in Congress and across the country.
AARP is your fierce defender on the issues that matter to people 50-plus. Become a member or renew your membership today.

“From home-delivered meals to job training and caregiver support, OAA programs remain vital as our aging population grows,” says Megan O’Reilly, vice president for health and family for AARP government affairs.

Older Americans Act over time

The OAA became law on July 14, 1965. Today, it fits within a suite of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society initiatives adopted over the last century that have garnered bipartisan federal support for healthy and independent aging in the U.S., including the Social Security Act of 1935 and the Medicare and Medicaid Act. But the OAA does something unique that advocates say must be protected, as funding has stagnated in recent decades despite a rapidly growing older population. At the time of the bill’s signing, roughly 1 in 10 Americans was 65 or older. Today, that figure is closer to 1 in 6.

Most Popular

“To have a special carve-out that’s categorically in the name of aging in place is something that only the Older Americans Act does,” said Emily Greenfield, director of the Hub for Aging Collaboration at Rutgers University. “In the context of structural ageism and underfunding for social services more generally, it’s really something special that the Older Americans Act provides.”

OAA programs tackle many health issues that can make maintaining independence difficult for adults as they age. Chronic disease self-management, fall prevention, home care, adult day services and assisted transportation empower individuals to keep receiving care in the community where they live, keeping them connected to their support network.

“The Older Americans Act really uniquely funds community-based services on their own terms,” Greenfield said.

The law also ensures there is steady support for older adults when disaster strikes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the OAA leveraged flexible funding to address food shortages through grocery delivery and shelf-stable meals. Advocates say OAA can also help fill gaps in care for individuals who can’t meet eligibility standards set by other federal programs, like Medicaid or nutrition assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Medicaid is a major provider of nursing home care, home and community-based services, but the OAA — while smaller — can reach those with financial resources just above Medicaid income thresholds.

In 2021, AARP’s Public Policy Institute found more than 10 million people received OAA services. These services are coordinated through a network of hundreds of federal, state, tribal and local agencies that also use state and local funding to carry out the OAA programs. The intent of the law was to provide an intentional, flexible approach to infusing communities with the resources they need to respond to issues locally.

“Programs like Social Security and Medicare helped with income and health care, but the OAA was the first time the federal government recognized that supporting older adults is something our communities should plan for,” said Michelle Matter, director of aging for the San Diego State University Center for Excellence in Aging & Longevity. “That shift, from charity to public responsibility, was a radical idea for its time, and it continues to shape how we think about aging with dignity and choice.”

Funding hurdles spell uncertainty

Advocates are pushing hard for an overdue increase to the program’s funding.

In 2020, Congress re-upped funding for the OAA, but it expired last year. An attempt to reauthorize it ultimately failed on Capitol Hill in December 2024, and OAA programs have been running on the fumes of the short-term budget measure that ends Sept. 30. While OAA programs can still receive funding while the Act is expired, reauthorization is an important opportunity to prioritize the needs of older adults by modernizing, revising and expanding the programs within the act.

The federal reconciliation legislation, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed by President Trump into law on July 4, funds mandatory programs, but OAA programs are discretionary, meaning they will be paid for by separate legislation for the Department of Health and Human Services. Congress will need to pass a new funding bill by Oct. 1 to prevent a lapse in OAA funding. Any additional pressure put on state budgets would strain their ability to fund OAA programs. Already, states are expected to inherit huge sums to make up for federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid.

But advocates like Sandy Markwood, CEO of USAging, see great potential for the future of OAA. She and others said there are promising opportunities to address modern challenges facing older adults, including brain health, digital literacy and expanded resources for caregivers.

“I know that there are challenges out there, but I do believe that out of challenges comes greater innovation,” she said.

%{postComment}%

Molly Snow is a writer for AARP covering advocacy issues and state news. She also writes AARP's Today's Tips podcast. She previously worked at other news outlets, including Federal Times, McClatchy and Gannett.