Thank you, advocates
By Jamie Herrmann
Executive Director
AAA7
Over the past few months, we have been very busy working on advocacy around funding for aging services at both the state and federal levels. During mid-April, a draft budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was leaked that included proposed cuts to many critical aging programs that support older adults in Ohio and across the nation, such as Older Americans Act (OAA) evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention programs (Title III D) and elder rights efforts (Title VII) to prevent elder abuse and neglect, such as our local Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, among others.
In addition to cuts, the document showed the former Administration of Community Living division being split into two separate departments, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
We had a great deal of concern with elements in the leaked draft and the potential impact for older adults and caregivers to receive the services and supports they need to remain living at home and in the community versus facing placement in institutional settings, as well as drive cost inefficiencies through unnecessary and wasteful administrative burden on federal, state, and local aging agencies.
Following that document, the Trump Administration released several budget documents in support of the President’s “skinny” budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. With many newly elected officials, Ohio Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) have spent a lot of time meeting with and educating our legislators on the importance of the services provided through our network. Throughout this Spring, we also encouraged others to reach out to legislators and reiterate how valuable these programs are in our area.
Fortunately, our elected officials are listening. The proposed HHS Budget for FY 2026 was recently released, and it contained great news for the Older Americans Act and Aging Network – our advocacy has been successful! The following was included in supplemental budget materials officially released by HHS:
• All OAA programs and many other aging and disability programs previously administered by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) will move to a newly renamed Administration for Children, Families and Communities (ACFC).
• OAA programs will not be moved to CMS and the programs that made up ACL will continue to be housed in ACFC as well. Huge advocacy win.
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman included in budget.
A big thank you to all who have helped with advocacy efforts! Whether it was calling your elected official, writing a letter, or sending an email, your support is truly appreciated! While this is good news, it’s important to remember that the president’s budget is only a blueprint, not an actual appropriations bill. Congress must agree to implement these levels through their appropriations process.
In addition to monitoring updates throughout this process, we’ll be advocating to increase funding for all OAA programs to meet the current and future needs of older adults and advocating to protect Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from proposed cuts in the reconciliation bill.
To find out more about AAA7 and the programs we offer or resources we can connect you with, contact us at 1-800-582-7277 or email info@aaa7.org.