The importance of home life care support, not just home medical care support, came up Tuesday during a hearing on the Older Americans Act (OAA) funding renewal.
The 1965 law funds many state and federal programs that serve the elderly, ranging from caregiver support services to long-term care (LTC) ombudsman services and state and local Area Agencies on Aging programs.
Authorization for most OAA programs ran out in 2011, and Congress has kept them alive with annual budget appropriations, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Congress provided $1.9 billion for the programs for 2014.
Lynn Kellogg, a witness at a hearing on OAA funding renewal organized by the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said one important point for elder care policymakers to remember is that doctors, hospitals and other health care providers may be trying to increase their role in trying to coordinate care but often have a limited understanding of what frail and disabled older people really need.