Applying for Medicaid while dealing with a medical crisis is hard. For decades, retroactive Medicaid coverage protected families facing this exact dilemma.
But new federal rules will shorten retroactive Medicaid coverage from 3 to 2 months for most enrollees.
Here's what advocates need to know:
Even though actual fraud by benefit recipients is rare, "we have constructed a massive enforcement apparatus to root out a small minority, and in the process, we have made life materially harder for millions."
Next week, Justice in Aging attorneys and a panel of other legal, policy, and social work experts will share strategies to help advocates navigate Social Security during this turbulent time.
Register for our free webinar: to.justiceinaging.org/btMRipG
The Social Security Administration has fewer employees than it had in 1967, when it served 52 million fewer beneficiaries.
"Right now, it can take two or three months after somebody’s been found eligible for retirement benefits to get into pay status, and that’s just unprecedented."
Enrollees who owe back Medicare premiums can reduce or eliminate what they owe by requesting an installment plan, hardship waiver, or appealing incorrect amounts.
"We’ve been fighting to expand access to these services over decades and decades.
It hasn’t been easy, but there has been bipartisan support for expanding these programs and services. To be constantly trying to defend what we have is exhausting."
— @nataliekean.bsky.social
Our documentary about the history of Social Security --sponsored by @aarp.org -- airs on Maryland Public Television on Saturday, March 28, 8:30pm. It can be viewed nationally via MPT’s online video player or PBS app. ncpssm.org/documents/la...
#AARP #SocialSecurity #documentary #PBS #film #history
Work requirements strip healthcare away from the very people Medicaid exists to protect.
State policymakers can help keep Medicaid accessible by eliminating redundant renewal paperwork and other administrative barriers.
Over the last 15 months, Americans who rely on Social Security have borne the brunt of the agency's drastic staff cuts and customer service changes.
At our upcoming webinar, an expert panel will share strategies to help advocates navigate SSA during this turbulent period.
Register:
Medicaid-funded home care is not a luxury—it's a lifeline
that allows older adults to safely age in their own homes and avoid nursing facilities.
Americans on Affordable Care Act plans—of whom half are 50–64 years old—are paying as much as double their previous premiums after a Biden-era subsidy expired at the end of 2025.
“It's forcing people to make impossible choices,” @nataliekean.bsky.social stressed.
Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, was created in 1972 to shield Americans from poverty.
But over half a century later, the program is too outdated to deliver on its original promise.
Older Californians face significant behavioral health needs that often go unmet: 2 in 5 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.
Cuts to at-home care are not abstract line items—they force people into nursing homes, drain families' savings, and deepen the caregiver shortage.
This morning, @warren.senate.gov, Rep. Adelita Grijalva, and Rep. Jame Moylan introduced the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act alongside experts and advocates.
If passed, it would reduce poverty among SSI recipients by 60 percent.
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Congress promised to protect Medicaid, then voted to slash funding by $1 trillion.
Home care services—the lifeline that keeps many older adults out of nursing homes—now hang in the balance.
New work requirements threaten to strip health care coverage from hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on Medicaid.
But each state's rules—like what paperwork they'll require and which exemptions will be honored automatically—will ultimately decide who keeps their insurance and who doesn't.
"States will not see savings in the long run, as people without health insurance will eventually seek care at hospitals and emergency rooms during medical crises, leading to increased uncompensated care costs. "
Later this year, a new law will end Medicare eligibility for hundreds of thousands of lawfully present older immigrants, including some refugees and asylees.
Here's what advocates need to know:
Stories from Massachusetts residents who are returning to their communities after extended, sometimes years-long nursing home stays are affirming what advocates have long known: community living is key to aging with dignity—and benefits state budgets, too.
A law passed over the summer will restrict access to Medicare, Medicaid, and ACA tax credits to:
-U.S. citizens
-permanent residents
-some Cuban and Haitian entrants
-Compact of Free Association (COFA) residents
Hundreds of thousands of other lawfully present immigrants no longer qualify.
Medicaid work requirements hurt families and state governments alike.
But states can—and should—take action to prevent Medicaid terminations and cut the red tape created by this new federal mandate.
Emma, 57, is involved in everything from volunteering with domestic violence survivors to developing an adaptive clothing business.
Her caregiver, Wanda, makes her busy schedule possible.
But Medicaid cuts threaten the in-home care services that Emma and many others rely on to live independently.
As more Americans live with dementia, a simultaneous care worker shortage is forcing families to manage their parents’ complex needs alone.
States often consider three hard choices when facing Medicaid funding shortfalls: cutting eligibility, slashing benefits, or reducing provider rates.
As @amberchrist.bsky.social explains, "none of those are acceptable."
We are living in a time of deep uncertainty.
The programs older adults rely on are under attack.
But, as @kevinprindiville.bsky.social reminds us, this challenging moment won't last forever—and we can wield our collective power to reimagine a better future.
In an uncertain landscape marked by #Medicaid cuts and threats to gender-affirming care, many LGBTQ+ older adults struggle to access the support they need to age with dignity.
Join us for a timely webinar about federal policies impacting LGBTQ+ Americans—and how advocates can protect their rights.
When Medicaid budgets are strained, many states cut dental coverage. Without it, people resort to ERs for issues that routine dental care could have prevented altogether.
The bottom line: Medicaid cuts cost actual lives—and state budgets—more in the long run.
Why are we doing less for low-income, older, and disabled Americans?
@amberchrist.bsky.social @justiceinaging.org
aginginamerica.news/2026/01/13/m...
States aren't required to include adult dental benefits in their #Medicaid programs, so these services are often the first to go when funding is cut.
Poor oral health causes more than just pain—it can interfere with school and work and is linked to chronic conditions such as diabetes.