Justice in Aging

We're excited to share that our short film, "Stand Up, Speak Up, Pass It On," won a Gold Davey Award and a Gold MarCom Award! The film follows three older adults who share stories of struggle and resilience, from the AIDS crisis to housing insecurity to supporting a partner with dementia.

Justice in Aging is proud to be part of Age Well CA, a partnership of organizations committed to an expanded state vision for supporting Californians as we age. Learn more about our goals and policy priorities at AgeWellCA.org

Starting in January 2027, adults ages 19 to 64 enrolled in ACA Medicaid expansion may need to meet work requirements to keep their coverage. Our new FAQ breaks down who these rules apply to and what they need to do to stay compliant.

📢 We're seeking applicants for our 2027 summer fellowships! The positions are full-time, remote, and paid. Applications will be accepted through Friday, 11/13, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Medicare Open Enrollment begins tomorrow, October 15. This is a critical time to review your coverage, especially if you’re enrolled in a prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage. These plans update their out-of-pocket costs, provider networks, and covered medications each year.

Open enrollment is a great time to review your Medicare plan and uncover potential savings. The Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), known as "Extra Help," and the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program can help reduce out-of-pocket costs, but many older adults who qualify aren't aware that they exist.

Californians: If you’re covered by Medi-Cal, be sure your address is current and look out for Medi-Cal notices sent by mail. Starting in January, some enrollees will need to meet new work requirements or show that they qualify for an exemption.

9 out of 10 older adults say they want to age at home. But the availability of Medicaid home care services varies widely between and even within states.

Over 15% of older adults—nearly 10 million Americans—now live in poverty. Older adults of color experience even higher rates.

Health, legal aid, and social services professionals need to understand Medicaid to effectively help their clients navigate their benefits. Our 1-hour Medicaid 101 webinar covers the basics, including how Medicaid works alongside Medicare and what the latest federal rules mean for older adults.

Nearly 30% of older adults have difficulty with dressing, bathing, preparing meals, or other daily tasks. Most people want to get the support they need at home rather than in a nursing facility, but Medicare and Medicaid aren't funded or structured to meet this need for our rapidly aging population.

Ask older adults where they want to live as they age, and nearly all give the same answer: at home, not in a nursing facility. But most can't afford to, and the Medicaid home and community programs that could help are hard to access. In Texas alone, the wait list is nearly 182,000 people long.

1.8 million Californians are enrolled in both Medi-Cal and Medicare. They are among the state’s most medically complex residents, yet are forced to shoulder the red tape of two insurance programs that were never designed to work together.

Health, legal aid, and social services professionals need to understand Medicaid to effectively help their clients navigate their benefits. Our recent webinar covers the basics, including how Medicaid works alongside Medicare and what the latest federal rules mean for older adults.

No one should lose their healthcare because of red tape or missed paperwork. Even the smallest lapse in coverage can trigger a medical or financial catastrophe.

Americans on Medicaid wait an average of 3.5 years to access the in-home and community health care services they need.

"It’s inevitable that people will end up in ERs and on the streets."

The Department of Homeland Security recently expanded its criteria for identifying "public charges"—immigrants who are likely to depend on government assistance. Join our upcoming webinar to learn about the new public charge rule and how it will impact older immigrants.

With only 24 nursing facilities and 14 assisted living facilities operated by Tribal Nations, American Indians and Alaska Natives often must leave their homes, families, and traditions to receive the care they need outside Indian Country.

Justice in Aging's Hagar Dickman spoke with Mother Jones about the Trump administration's unfounded claims of fraud in California's home care programs. "The whole assumption that growth means fraud is absurd.”

As Medicaid turns 61, it faces a historically devastating slate of cuts that will only force more people into nursing homes, drain families' savings, and deepen the caregiver shortage.

Applying for Medicaid often requires a mountain of paperwork: property deeds, insurance documents, years of bank statements, and more. Gathering it all can take weeks. But applicants might need health care before the paperwork is done.

@nataliekean.bsky.social @justiceinaging.org @democrats.org #medicaid #medicare #healthcoverage #AffordableCareAct #seniors #healthcare #trump #republicans

1 in 5 Americans experiencing homelessness is over age 55. Almost half of these older adults live in cars, parks, or on the streets, where they face accelerated aging and develop health conditions usually seen in people 20 years older.

Hagar Dickman of @justiceinaging.org told me that disabled people “are entitled to the life that we expect to have of independence, of autonomy, of self-actualization, and agency" through home and community-based services.

RFK Jr. and Oz attacked California for its Medicaid home care, citing growth as proof of fraud. For @motherjones.com, I reported on how the growth isn't proof of fraud, and growth of participants is proof the program is more accessible than in other states. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

"The problem with viewing lives like hers as extraordinary, she argues, is that it obscures how much of it depended on choices the government made."

Many Americans who qualify for exemptions from Medicaid work requirements may still lose their coverage because the paperwork needed to prove exemptions is so complex. Older adults with patchy work histories, chronic conditions, or caregiving responsibilities are particularly at risk.

Work requirements strip healthcare away from the very people Medicaid exists to protect. Here's how states can cut the red tape created by this new federal mandate:

Imagine a sudden illness lands you in the hospital. You are not yet enrolled in Medicaid and can't afford the medical bills that are piling up. Retroactive Medicaid was designed for moments like this. But a new federal rule will cut retroactive coverage from 3 to 2 months for most enrollees.

Millions of Americans rely on Social Security to pay for rent, food, and other basic expenses. For 1 in 4 older adults, it provides at least 90% of their income. Join us at our next webinar for a crash course on Social Security retirement, spousal, and survivor benefits. Register 👇

Medicare enrollment is neither simple nor straightforward, so it's best to start as early as you can. For most Americans, enrollment begins three months before their 65th birthday.

Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) provide integrated care for people who are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. This "dually eligible" population is more racially diverse, has lower incomes, and faces greater health challenges than the general Medicare population.

Half of Americans on Medicare go without dental care each year—not because they don't need it, but because Medicare doesn’t cover most dental services.

Protecting Medicare is elder abuse prevention. Strengthening Social Security is elder abuse prevention. Expanding SNAP is elder abuse prevention. When older adults have reliable access to health care, food, and housing, they're far less likely to be exploited. #WEAAD

Fact: High-income earners pay no Social Security payroll tax on wages above $184,500.

The Social Security retirement trust fund is projected to run dry by 2032. That doesn’t mean Social Security is “going broke.” It means policymakers have a choice: cut the benefits American families have earned, or act to protect them.

As rents skyrocket, federal rental assistance is at its lowest in nearly 25 years. Only 1 in 3 older adults who need subsidized housing receives it.

Most Medicare Advantage plans offer some dental coverage, but benefits vary and can be hard to access. A recent analysis found that when enrollees appealed a Medicare Advantage decision on dental services, only 2% were decided in their favor.

What does it cost to age with dignity? "It’s time to acknowledge that collective solutions – not shame and blame, piled on top of longstanding inequities – are the key to get us through a tender time in our family’s lives."

Half of Americans on Medicare went without dental care last year not because they didn’t need it, but because Medicare doesn’t cover most dental services.

Millions of Americans are paid through government programs to care for disabled family members. Now that lifeline is under attack on multiple fronts:

Americans receiving SSI often qualify for other benefits like SNAP but don't get connected to them. Policymakers can improve how these benefits work together by adopting common-sense reforms such as using existing records to automatically enroll eligible people in multiple programs at once.

A program created to prevent people from living in poverty should not punish people for saving money.

Medicaid work requirements will introduce needless red tape that could cause millions of Americans to lose their health coverage, even when they still qualify. But states can ease the burden these new rules create.

2 in 5 older Californians feel lonely or isolated, and 45% feel depressed. As California implements its new Behavioral Health Services Act, advocates can help reshape the state's behavioral health systems to better serve older adults.

Only half of Americans enrolled in Medicare saw a dental provider in the past year.

Rosa María Carranza, 67, is one of an estimated 100,000 lawfully present immigrants who will no longer benefit from the Medicare system they paid into for decades. "This is like a horror movie, a complete nightmare. This is not how I imagined getting old."

Too often, nursing homes and assisted living facilities use baseless accusations—like claiming the resident has "behavioral issues"—as grounds for eviction. Join our next webinar to learn how to recognize these illegal practices and prepare for hearings and trials.

Imagine a sudden illness lands you in the hospital. You can't afford the medical bills that pile up and aren't enrolled in Medicaid. Retroactive Medicaid was designed for exactly these moments. But a new federal rule will cut retroactive coverage from 3 to 2 months for most enrollees.