Argentum sent a letter last week to the Trump Administration in support of the Aging with Dignity Campaign focused on cross-agency approaches for regulatory relief and policy changes to improve the lives of seniors. We asked that the Trump Administration support expanding Veterans access to assisted living, promote tax-advantaged savings vehicles to help mor Americans access and afford long-term care, and expand housing and finance programs to promote development of seniors housing and capital programs.
In addition to promoting our policy priorities for inclusion in the Aging with Dignity Campaign, we also are pressing the Administration for its support of a reimagined White House hosts a Conference on Aging to promote policies supporting our nation’s seniors. The White House Conference on Aging has been held every ten years since 1965 to convene policymakers, health experts, seniors, and their families to solve the problems experienced by older adults. Unfortunately, the most recent iteration in 2015 was abbreviated by the Obama Administration and did not leave a lasting impact.
We believe that a reimagined White House Conference on Longevity could elevate the policy challenges and solutions facing seniors, including: investing in millions of dedicated seniors housing units, recruiting and retaining the more than 20-million long-term care workers who will be needed by 2040, leveraging technological innovations, promoting critical savings tools and tax policies to help seniors financially thrive, and reducing the negative health outcomes driven by isolation.
Argentum has met with senior Congressional leaders and members of the Trump Administration to promote the renewed Conference on Longevity, and we are working to assemble a broad coalition of stakeholders to organize and promote an event focused on helping seniors lead longer, healthier, and more active lives.