Older Americans Act of 1965

The Older Americans Act of 1965 was federal legislation that addressed the concerns of the increasing population of elderly citizens in the United States. The act established the Administration on Aging, which would oversee government actions pertaining to older citizens and distribute grant money for their assistance. Paired with other pieces of elderly legislation, the Older Americans Act helped to create social services and develop programs and projects that would assist older citizens in paying medical expenses, receiving proper housing and nutrition, and reducing elder abuse.

Background

Caring for older citizens has been an important responsibility of every civilization. The need for elder care has increased dramatically in modern times, however. Larger populations mean that there is a higher population of elderly citizens. In addition, thanks to improved diet, medicine, and other factors, dramatic increases in average life spans have ensured that many more people are living to old age. The need to effectively protect and provide for older citizens has never been greater.

In the United States, federal provisions and programs to help older citizens began in the twentieth century. In 1920, Congress passed the Civil Service Retirement Act, which ensured that many government employees would receive benefits in retirement. In 1935, this idea was greatly expanded to cover all Americans with passage of the Social Security Act. As designed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, this act provided assistance and insurance for older citizens and their surviving family members.

In the 1950s, during a period of economic prosperity and population growth following World War II (1939–1945), the US federal government again increased benefits to elderly citizens. In 1950, President Harry Truman held the initial National Conference on Aging, where he spoke about how millions of older citizens lacked security and protection against rising medical bills and other costs related to aging. Two years later, new Social Security Act programs for older people launched thanks to new funding from the federal government.

New initiatives continued throughout the later part of the 1950s. In 1956, the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare was enlarged to include a Special Staff on Aging. This office was reframed as a larger and independent agency, the Commission on Aging, in 1962. In 1961, the White House held its first Conference on Aging. During this time, new low-rent housing programs for elderly people and liberalization of the retirement age and requirements for Social Security were also adopted by legislators.

Overview

By 1962, more than eighteen million Americans were aged more than sixty-five years. A large percentage of these elderly people had health problems requiring significant medical costs, despite a general lack of steady income. Legislators recognized this was a serious problem, not only for elderly citizens but for the whole country, and that the problem would only grow as the population increased and the average life expectancy rose to record highs.

National leaders crafted a new set of programs and provisions for elderly citizens. President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke out about the need for this initiative, explaining how medical costs are prohibitive for many older people and can easily crush a person’s life savings or even that of family members and other caretakers. Johnson said that it was a matter of justice to provide better services to older citizens.

On July 14, 1965, Johnson and other legislators signed into law the Older Americans Act. This act enacted new regulations that would change the lives of America’s elderly in many ways. It would also restructure the federal government, creating new offices empowered to study the needs of older citizens and find ways to best meet these needs. Legal historians consider the Older Americans Act one of the most influential milestones of elder law ever created by Congress.

One of the main effects of the Older Americans Act was a further expansion of government offices to help the elderly. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare—which had previously included a Special Staff on Aging and then a Commission on Aging—now gained an independent and powerful Administration on Aging. This body would help manage all federal issues relating to the elderly and provide grants. Although federal legislation, the Older Americans Act also called for each state to form State Units on Aging to study and address elder concerns on a more localized level.

Johnson paired the Older Americans Act with related 1965 legislation that expanded the Social Security Act. This legislation founded Medicare, a system by which elderly citizens receive health insurance with government aid. Relatedly, the act also established Medicaid, which served a similar role for citizens with low income.

In 1967, lawmakers voted to extend the Older Americans Act, and in coming years added many new amendments and other provisions to the act. For example, amendments offered grants to elderly volunteers and grandparents who were raising their grandchildren. Grants also helped groups develop local agencies and senior centers, and deliver meals to homebound seniors. In the 1970s, the act was extended to elderly people in Native American tribal areas.

Even as many new pieces of elder legislation were being introduced, lawmakers continued to revise and update the Older Americans Act. For example, in 1981, the act was reauthorized and reworked to encourage senior citizens to remain independent and socially active. Although the Older Americans Act temporarily expired on September 30, 1996, legislators voted to reinstate it in 2000. With the reinstatement came a variety of amendments meant to better serve seniors’ needs in the twenty-first century, such as improving senior nutrition and combating elder abuse.

Bibliography

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“History of the Older Americans Act.” Oregon Department of Human Services, www.dhs.state.or.us/spd/tools/cm/oaa/history‗mar06.pdf. Accessed 3 Oct. 2018.

“Older Americans Act.” Administration for Community Living, www.acl.gov/about-acl/authorizing-statutes/older-americans-act. Accessed 3 Oct. 2018.

“Older Americans Act.” National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, 21 Aug. 2018, www.ncpssm.org/documents/older-americans-policy-papers/older-americans-act/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2018.

“Older Americans Act of 1965.” U.S. Department of Labor, 14 Jan. 2010, www.doleta.gov/regs/statutes/olderam.cfm. Accessed 3 Oct. 2018.

“Older Americans Act of 1965.” U.S. House of Representatives, legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Older Americans Act Of 1965.pdf. Accessed 3 Oct. 2018.

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“What Is the Older Americans Act?” Find Law, elder.findlaw.com/what-is-elder-law/what-is-the-older-americans-act.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2018.