New York -- March 22, 2019
The White House is pushing for more public and private sector collaboration in technology and home health staffing solutions to address the coming “age wave” in order to help more older adults remain in their home longer during retirement. That’s one idea recently released in the final report from the sixth Conference on Aging that was hosted by the White House in July.
The aging conference has been conducted every decade since 1961 and brings together older Americans and their families, caregivers and advocates. 2015 was the 50th anniversaries for some of the most important federal programs for seniors: Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act. Not to mention, Social Security also turned 80 this year.
2015 was also the first year the conference was virtually broadcast in a live webcast in which individuals and groups could ask panelists questions via social media. On the day of the conference, more that 700 watch parties relayed their input, and stakeholder groups in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. organized groups to watch the lifestream, discuss ideas and submit feedback.
The conference was prefaced by a year-long conversation that brought out four common themes for discussion: retirement security, healthy aging, long-term services and supports and elder justice. The White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA) released four policy briefs on each of these areas in its final report.