First enacted in 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) helps seniors preserve and improve their health and economic security through a wide range of services and programs, including: supportive services, home-delivered and congregate nutrition, senior center support, health promotion and disease prevention, benefits access, family caregiver support, job training and placement, and elder rights protections. Today, OAA services reach only one in five older adults.

Congress adopted a bipartisan OAA reauthorization in 2016, which is due to expire at the end of FY 2019. Reauthorization would strengthen the OAA to reflect lessons learned and also enhance research, demonstration, and technical assistance that will support development and adoption to evidence-based approaches to address the growing concerns of our nation's seniors.

This NCOA issue brief outlines the rationale and priorities for reauthorizing OAA, and outlines our priorities for 2019.