Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) recently introduced an amendment to the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act to correct its funding formula during a markup of the bill by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Burr said the amendment, which was defeated by a 7-14 vote, would have divvied OAA funding to states based on the number of older constituents who currently live there.
“The current funding formula for (OAA) is both outdated and unfair,” Burr said. “Allocating funds based on 13-year-old data penalizes states like North Carolina who have fast-growing populations of seniors and distorts funding so that these states do not get their fair share. It is time to update this formula to ensure that the dollars flow to where the seniors actually are today. “
OAA ensures that seniors are able to remain in their homes and communities rather than opt for in-patient care. It accomplishes that by funding state and local care networks for the elderly.
The OAA’s currently funding formula uses the number of older adults in each state based on data from the 2000 census. A provision of the bill’s reauthorization in 2006 included a “hold harmless” clause that does not allow states to fall below 2006 funding levels.
Burr’s amendment would have stricken the hold harmless provision so that fund allotment would be based on more recent population data.
“While all of my colleagues conceded that I was right and the formula is in fact broken, a conclusion reached by the GAO three years ago, I was disappointed that they chose to again ignore the issue and do nothing to fix this inequity,” Burr said.