# The SENIOR Act of 2024: What It Means for Aging Americans

America is facing a major challenge: millions of seniors need care, but there aren't enough workers to provide it, and most older adults can't afford the care they need. The SENIOR Act tries to tackle both problems by creating training programs for caregivers and providing financial help for seniors who want to live in assisted living facilities instead of nursing homes.

The bill recognizes that the aging population is exploding. Ten thousand Americans turn 65 every single day, and by 2034, there will be more people over 65 than under 18. The problem is stark: about 70 percent of people over 65 will need some form of long-term care at some point, but most can't pay for it. The bill notes that nearly 47 million Americans aged 60 and older don't have the financial resources to cover the care they might need. Right now, the country spends over $400 billion annually on long-term care, with government programs like Medicaid footing most of the bill.

To address the worker shortage, the bill directs the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services to create and expand training programs for direct care workers—the people who help seniors with daily activities like bathing, eating, and getting around. These programs would include training for workers in assisted living facilities, which the bill emphasizes are significantly cheaper than nursing homes. The bill also creates a new "Senior Care Cost Reduction Program" that would give states money to provide eligible seniors with $1,000 monthly payments to help cover assisted living costs. To qualify, seniors must be at least 70 years old, have limited income (no more than 60 percent of their state's median income), and have minimal savings. The monthly payment would increase each year with inflation.

The bill's core idea is straightforward: assisted living is roughly half the cost of nursing homes, so helping more seniors afford assisted living could save both families and government programs enormous amounts of money while keeping seniors in less restrictive settings than institutional care.