U.S. finally has a plan on aging. Will we use it?

Here’s something you probably don’t know about, but should: A consortium of 16 federal departments and agencies, plus three philanthropies focused on aging, just released “A Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging.”

Lindsay Goldman, chief executive at Grantmakers in Aging, calls the 38-page report “a very person-centered approach to a national plan that feels aligned with the realities of people living it.”

The aspirational report was written by a group that Congress established in 2020 when updating the Older Americans Act: The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Healthy Aging and Age-Friendly Communities, or ICC for short. It is chaired by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“There were multiple goals,” said Kari Benson, ACL’s assistant secretary for aging. “To raise awareness of the needs and priorities of an aging population and to authorize federal agencies to come together to elevate older Americans as vital members of society — to address ageism and to reframe aging.”

The strategic plan — which its creators will follow up with three listening sessions across the country and a detailed report — comes at a time when the public is seriously concerned about aging in the United States.

Two-thirds of people who participated in the West Health-Gallup 2024 Survey on Aging in America said they have “little or no confidence that America can care for its aging population” and 74% feel issues affecting older adults “are a low priority for the government.”

Seven experts on aging interviewed by Next Avenue applauded the existence and aims of the broad, national strategic framework on aging (AARP subsequently released its version of one). But the leaders expressed skepticism about whether the government plan’s goals were achievable given today’s political climate and federal budget constraints.

“I really do hope that they’re wildly successful, and reading it I thought, ‘Wow, look at all they pulled together,’” said Ken Dychtwald, CEO of the research and consulting firm AgeWave in Orinda, Calif. But, he added, “I was struck by the baked-in complexity and the absence of a time-based game plan.”

Paul Irving, former chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging in Santa Monica, Calif., called the strategic plan “a terrific and important document that deserves attention and visibility.” He wished, however, that it gave more attention to “the economic power of older adults and their ability to contribute as workers, entrepreneurs and volunteers.”

Bob Blancato, national coordinator at the nonprofit Elder Justice Coalition and executive director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, called the strategic plan “an important first step.” He noted that a recent USAging (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging) conference session he attended on it was standing-room-only. Blancato added that he hopes the subsequent detailed national plan will have recommendations for assisting older adults with nutrition.

Although Bob Kramer, founder of Nexus Insights, a consulting firm in Arnold, Md., that specializes in aging, approved of the plan’s comprehensive approach, he faulted “its lack of a candid assessment of what’s working and what isn’t.”

To turn the plan’s priorities into action, Kramer added, funding is key.

That’s not just because the U.S. population is getting older — today, 16% of Americans are aged 65 or over; in 2035, 22% will be; by 2040, 13.7 million will be aged 85 or over. A national plan, the experts said, could also address threats facing America’s elders.

“Large numbers of older adults face formidable, often preventable challenges across all aspects of daily life,” the strategic plan noted.

More than half of single older women and 45% of single older men lack enough money to meet their basic needs, according to the Elder Index.

A new West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index found that 29% of Americans 65 or older can’t pay for health care or medicine, lack easy access to it or wouldn’t have access to affordable quality care if needed today, up from 21% in 2022.

The strategic-plan report also cited these statistics:

The strategic plan lays out four big, general priorities: age-friendly communities, coordinated housing and supportive services, increased access to long-term services and supports (including a well-trained, well-paid long-term care workforce) and aligned health care and supportive services.

At the ICC’s recent listening session in Washington, D.C., Benson noted, attendees “really elevated safety as a priority — feeling safe in their home and in their community.” They also talked about their experiences as caregivers and the need to seriously address long-term care in America.

That listening session and others planned for Pennsylvania, Alabama and Texas focus on older adults with the greatest economic and social need.

The public is invited to share their views about aging in America through the online survey that one of ICC’s partners, West Health, put up. Deadline: Sept. 15, 2024.

This national strategic plan echoes similar efforts happening at nearly half the states around the country. Twenty-four are implementing or developing their own strategic plans, sometimes called multisector plans or master plans.

They are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

The national strategic plan’s creators hope their work will set the stage for the next decennial White House Conference on Aging — the seventh — in 2025.

But the political climate has raised doubts about whether there will be one.

Tim Lash, president of the West Health nonprofit on older Americans’ health care costs, hopes to see a 2025 conference. But, he said, “I’m not optimistic given the state of polarization.”

Recently, the House Appropriations Committee failed to allot funding to a 2025 White House Conference on Aging, which National Council on Aging President and CEO Ramsey Alwin called “unacceptable” and “shortsighted.”

Will the strategic plan be just another well-meaning government report that winds up sitting on policymaker’s shelves and in their computers?

“I think we all share that concern,” said Benson. But, she added, “we have the commitment, and frankly the requirement, to continue to work on these things. And we will continue to do that.”