TFAH Applauds Introduction of the Protecting the Health of America’s Older Adults Act

(Washington, DC – December 16) – Trust for America’s Health, a non-partisan, nonprofit public health policy, research and advocacy organization, applauds the introduction of the bipartisan Protecting the Health of America’s Older Adults Act by Representatives Lois Frankel (CA-44), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) and Debbie Dingell (MI-12). The bill would enable state and local public health departments to better meet the needs of older adults via innovative new strategies.

If enacted, the bill would create a Healthy Aging grant program at CDC to provide grants to health departments to help states and local communities coordinate multi-sector efforts to promote the health of older adults and develop aging expertise. The grant program would allow state and local health departments to apply an aging lens to all of their work, including efforts to reduce healthcare costs and improve health equity. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of public health’s role in the aging sector, and this new program will help ensure that health departments have the resources they need to make a meaningful impact for seniors.

The President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, congratulates Representatives Frankel, Bilirakis, and Dingell on the introduction of the bill, stating:

“The last year underscored how important it is for public health to be at the table when it comes to promoting the health of older adults. Health departments have been critical to addressing the needs of older adults during the pandemic; their active engagement in many other issues faced by the aging population, including transportation and housing access, chronic disease, and mental health, will promote better aging outcomes and benefit our entire society. This new grant program would be a step in the right direction to ensure that state and local health departments have the resources to do exactly that.”

In addition to TFAH, original endorsing organizations include:

• Alliance for Aging Research
• American Association on Health and Disability
• American Lung Association
• American Muslim Health Professionals
• American Public Health Association
• American Psychological Association
• Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
• Association of State Public Health Nutritionists
• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
• Authority Health
• Catholic Health Association of the United States
• Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE)
• Ceres Community Project
• Christian Council of Delmarva
• Coalition of National Health Education Organizations
• Common Threads
• Elder Options
• Equality California
• FLIPANY
• Florida Public Health Association
• The Gerontological Society of America
• Hartsfield Health Systems Consulting, LLC
• Lakeshore Foundation
• Long Beach Gray Panthers
• Maine Council on Aging
• Maine Public Health Association
• Mel Leaman Free Clinic
• MindWise Innovations
• National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs
• National Network of Public Health Institutes
• National Recreation and Park Association
• National Senior Games Association
• Peggy Lillis Foundation
• The Praxis Project
• Prevent Blindness
• Silver State Equality-Nevada
• Society for Public Health Education
• Society for Women’s Health Research
• Tennessee Justice Center
• Urban Health Partnerships
• Valley AIDS Council
• WARM, Inc.
• Washington State Public Health Association
• We All Rise

TFAH has prepared a fact sheet on the legislation.