The Senate Special Committee on Aging, led by Chairman Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), on December 3, 2025 held a hearing, “Aging in Place: The Impact of Community during the Holidays,” focused on helping older Americans age in place.

The importance of various bipartisan solutions, including programs funded via the Older Americans Act, in addition to home and community-based services (HCBS) under Medicaid, were highlighted.

The discussion built upon the introduction of S 2120, the Older Americans Reauthorization Act (OAA), introduced earlier this year by Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Witnesses included John Offerdahl, president of Offerdahl’s Hand-Off Foundation; Jason Resendez, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving; Alison Barkoff, Hirsh Health Law & Policy associate professor and director of the Hirsh Health Law & Policy program at George Washington University; and Emily Ladau, disability rights advocate.

In his testimony, Mr. Resendez emphasized the 600,000 people on waiting lists for HCBS services because these services are optional under law.

Ms. Barkoff, who under the Biden administration led the Administration for Community Living (ACL), which administers OAA-funded grants, noted that the lack of affordable housing remains a critical barrier, with millions of older adults spending one-third of their income on housing and representing the fastest-growing group at risk of experiencing homelessness. Ranking Member Gillibrand spotlighted the re-introduction of her bill, the Strategic Plan on Aging Act, as an attempt to address some of these issues. The bill would establish grant programs for states who create or continue developing their multisector plans for aging and prepare for the increasing population of older adults.

“We urge the Committee to advance proposals that ensure the services and supports necessary for aging in community are available to people by investing in housing, services, local neighborhoods, and communities themselves,” LeadingAge wrote in our for-the-record statement submitted for this hearing. LeadingAge’s statement emphasized affordable housing and home and community-based services, including adult day, Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), transportation, home based care, and information sharing among payers to improve access and services.

The hearing’s discussion included a conversation on cost efficiency with questioning by Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) as, they said, supporting older adults to age at home costs roughly half as much as nursing homes or other institutional care. Senators and witnesses also focused on how policy can assist the 63 million Americans who provide support for a loved one, an almost 50% increase from 2015; many of these caregivers live in multigenerational households and disproportionately face financial struggles, along with other challenges. Sen. Scott discussed his work on bipartisan legislation to establish a tax credit for adults who provide certain care in multigenerational households. Additionally, Ranking Member Gillibrand previewed the re-introduction of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act, which would assist caregivers in receiving paid help.

Keeping with the title of the hearing, senators discussed the effect of the holiday season on aging adults, with 28% of individuals over 65 living alone and another 10,000 adults reaching retirement age each day. Chairman Scott described the holidays as an important time for community building but also a time that can amplify financial struggles and loneliness. He highlighted his bipartisan bill, S 473, the SENIORS Act, with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), which would expand the scope of funding through OAA to include services that address the loneliness epidemic facing older Americans.

Read LeadingAge’s statement for the hearing record here.

Watch the hearing and read witness testimony here.