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“Renewing Our Commitment: How the Older Americans Act Uplifts Families Living with Aging-Related Diseases”

Senate Aging Committee

November 5th, 2025 (recording linked here)

WITNESS & TESTIMONY

• Erick Montealegre: Family Caregiver

• Stephen Sappington: Patient Advocate

• Duana Patton: USAging President and CEO of the Ohio District 5 AAA

HEARING HIGHLIGHTS

MEMBER OPENING STATEMENTS

• Chair Scott (R-FL) framed the Older Americans Act (OAA) reauthorization as a commitment to seniors and family caregivers, highlighting tangible supports like Meals on Wheels, respite care, transportation, and senior centers. He cited the scale of need, including over 7 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, nearly 1 million with Parkinson’s, and millions of unpaid caregivers providing billions of hours of care. He argued the OAA empowers local, community-driven solutions rather than “big government.” He described these services as lifelines that keep people fed, safe, mobile, and connected, and said reauthorization would honor the contributions of parents and grandparents.

• Ranking Member Gillibrand (D-NY) emphasized that the OAA quietly sustained dignity and independence for older adults and people with disabilities, delivering millions of meals, rides, and hours of in-home help each year. She noted the program’s cost effectiveness, citing a 3.39-to-1 return on investment and avoided hospital and institutional days, and stressed that authorization had lapsed and must be renewed and modernized this fall. She linked OAA services to broader federal efforts on neurodegenerative diseases, such as national Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s initiatives, and prioritized elevating older adults’ voices in policy implementation. She committed to ensuring people could age with health, dignity, and independence in the setting of their choice.

WITNESS OPENING STATEMENTS

• Mr. Montealegre described how he and his siblings cared for their father with mild cognitive impairment and how OAA services improved his quality of life. He said home-delivered meals provided nutrition and daily check-ins, and an adult day center offered stimulation, exercise, social connection, and dignity. He noted the value of bilingual staff who could communicate with his Spanish-speaking father and guide decisions. He urged reauthorizing and strengthening the OAA to support families and communities.

• Mr. Sappington recounted his Parkinson’s diagnosis and said Rock Steady Boxing classes, supported in part by OAA resources, improved his balance, engagement, and symptoms. When funding was threatened, he founded Rally Against Parkinson’s to keep the classes free, which now offered ten weekly sessions and served hundreds. He reported unusually steady symptoms and eight years without higher medication and credited sustained exercise and community programs. He asked Congress to reauthorize and fully fund OAA services and to strengthen Parkinson’s research and the national plan.

• Ms. Patton said the OAA formed the backbone of non-Medicaid services delivered by the Aging Network across the country. She highlighted nutrition, supportive services, health promotion, and family caregiver support, and she shared a case in which personal care and meals helped a patient avoid rehospitalization. She argued that aging at home saved families and taxpayers compared with institutional care and that demand had surged as the population grew. She urged timely reauthorization to strengthen what works, modernize where needed, and preserve effective innovations.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SUMMARY

• Sen. McCormick (R-PA) asked how community volunteer support complemented federally backed OAA programs for people with Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Mr. Sappington said volunteerism sat at the center of effective services and worked in concert with OAA supports like transportation, nutrition, and support groups, which helped programs scale and sustain participation.

  Sen. McCormick then asked what was missing in OAA services for families at diagnosis. Mr. Montealegre said families needed faster connection to resources after diagnosis so therapy and community supports could start sooner and slow decline.

• Sen. Alsobrooks (D-MD) described caregiving pressures during a prolonged shutdown and asked what staffing cuts or a dissolution of the Administration for Community Living would mean for families. Ms. Patton said the OAA’s federal to local structure allowed the Aging Network to stay nimble and keep services flowing in crises, but reauthorization was vital to preserve responsiveness for caregivers and older adults.

  Sen. Alsobrooks then asked how OAA services such as transportation, caregiver resources, and exercise programs supported daily function for Parkinson’s patients. Mr. Sappington said these services kept people active, connected, and safe, and he added that the national Parkinson’s plan would complement OAA by driving long-term cures while OAA met near-term needs.

• Sen. Moody (R-FL) focused on elder protection and asked how ombudsman and frontline programs like Meals on Wheels helped identify abuse, neglect, or unmet needs. Mr. Montealegre said ombudsmen worked through cooperation and relationships to surface resident needs for facility leadership, which often fixed issues once aware.

  Sen. Moody asked about coordination with law enforcement and possible legislative tweaks. Mr. Montealegre said ombudsmen were mandated reporters with established referral pathways and that better community education on resident rights would prompt earlier reporting. Ms. Patton added that AAA “front doors” uncovered problems during routine referrals and that greater local flexibility in reauthorization would strengthen collaboration among AAAs, ombudsmen, adult protective services, and law enforcement.

• Sen. Kim (D-NJ) asked how to improve coordination across local, state, and federal levels so caregivers could access the full range of supports. Ms. Patton said awareness and inclusion of AAAs at policy tables produced practical funding and program designs and that long-standing local innovation should be preserved.

  Sen. Kim then asked for top reauthorization priorities. Ms. Patton emphasized maintaining local flexibility so services could be tailored to community needs rather than one-size solutions

  Sen. Kim closed by asking how OAA could ensure equitable, culturally and linguistically appropriate care. Mr. Montealegre said programs needed staff who matched community languages as patients often reverted to native tongues, which kept them engaged in therapy and services.

• Sen. Husted (R-OH) highlighted rising loneliness and its costs and asked how to counter isolation. Ms. Patton described meeting people where they were with creative approaches such as grab-and-go meals that improved nutrition, built social ties, and led to congregate participation.

  Sen. Husted asked for best practices to drive engagement. Ms. Patton cited phone-a-friend models, intergenerational school partnerships, and in-home providers who built relationships and offered activities to reduce isolation.

• Ranking Member Gillibrand (D-NY) asked how OAA connected older adults to Medicaid, SNAP, LIHEAP, and related services, including for rural communities. Ms. Patton said OAA served as an umbrella and diversion tool that used the lowest cost interventions first while linking people to benefits, and she noted that transportation often made benefits usable.

  Ranking Member Gillibrand invited witness examples. Mr. Montealegre said AAAs vetted innovations such as robotic pets and safety devices and acted as trusted hubs that shielded families from unsafe vendors. Mr. Sappington said increased AAA funding enabled partnerships with grassroots nonprofits and that OAA transportation removed the largest barrier to participation.

• Chair Scott R-FL) asked for an explanation of Rock Steady Boxing. Mr. Sappington said classes used music, call-and-response, punching combinations, and footwork drills to retrain brain-to-muscle signals and strengthen voice and balance without sparring.

  Chair Scott asked about how to find these services. Mr. Montealegre said online searches were confusing until an AAA connected his family to education and classes that built the vocabulary and confidence needed to navigate dementia care.

  Chair Scott invited additional stories and asked whether OAA saved money and supported work and volunteering. Ms. Patton said early, innovative OAA interventions improved outcomes, reduced costs, and kept people engaged in jobs and volunteer roles.

  Chair Scott closed by urging swift OAA reauthorization