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Six Decades Strong, Older Americans Act Could Get New Life
AARP is urging support for reauthorizing the landmark law that aids older adults
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Key takeaways
- The Older Americans Act has supported aging in place since 1965 and serves millions of older adults and caregivers.
- The Senate passed a reauthorization bill on July 14.
- AARP supports OAA reauthorization and is urging the House to pass the legislation.
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 more than 60 years: The Older Americans Act continues to deliver essential services to older adults and family caregivers with the greatest economic and social needs. To help keep up with the evolving needs of aging populations, the OAA is typically reauthorized every four or five years. In 2020, Congress reauthorized the law, but it expired in 2024.
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Recently there was a step forward: The Senate passed the OAA Reauthorization Act unanimously on July 14.
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“For six decades, the Older Americans Act has been the backbone of services that help millions of older Americans remain healthy, independent and connected to their communities while giving family caregivers the support they need to care for their loved ones,” says Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer at AARP.
“Strengthening these programs is more important than ever as America’s population continues to age,” she adds.
The bill awaits a vote in the House of Representatives.
The OAA leverages 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.
“We urge the House to swiftly pass this legislation so older Americans and their families continue to have access to these critical supports,” LeaMond says.
Improving the OAA
While OAA programs still receive funding while the act is expired, reauthorization is an opportunity to modernize, revise and expand the programs within the law, aging advocates say.
“As America’s older population grows, so too must the resources to help them remain independent and live at home,” wrote Bill Sweeney, AARP’s senior vice president of government affairs, in a 2025 letter to senators urging reauthorization.
“OAA programs are cost-effective investments that serve the needs of older Americans while deferring or eliminating the need for costly institutionalization,” Sweeney added.
The most recent reauthorization measure was reintroduced in June 2025 by a bipartisan group of senators.
Older Americans Act over time
The OAA became law on July 14, 1965. It was among President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society initiatives that were part of the social legislation passed over the past century, such as the Social Security Act of 1935. The initiatives garnered bipartisan federal support for healthy and independent aging in the U.S. and included 1965’s 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 were 65 or older. Today, that figure is closer to 1 in 6.
“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,” says Emily Greenfield, director of Rutgers University’s Hub for Aging Collaboration. “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. Self-management of chronic disease, fall prevention, home care, adult day services and assisted transportation empower individuals so they can receive 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 says.
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 the 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, or SNAP.
“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.
Medicaid is a major provider of nursing home care and 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 that 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 a flexible approach to giving communities 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,” says Michelle Matter, director of aging for San Diego State University’s 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,” she says.
AARP writer Miriam Cross contributed to this story.
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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