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GAO-24-107513 1 (2024-05-17)

handle is hein.gao/gaoqmn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 May 17, 2024 The Honorable Bernard Sanders Chair Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions United States Senate Older Americans Act: Updated Information on Unmet Need for Services Dear Chair Sanders: This correspondence formally transmits our analysis in response to a request to provide the most current data related to the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended (Older Americans Act), and unmet need, updating what we provided in 2015.1 On January 16, 2024, we briefed committee staff on our findings, and this correspondence transmits a final version of the tables used in that briefing (see encs. I & II). This report includes quantitative analysis of (1) need for and receipt of meal services among older individuals, and (2) potential need for home-based care services among older individuals. To estimate the unmet need for meal services, such as those funded by Title Ill of the Older Americans Act (Title Ill programs), we used the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 Current Population Survey (CPS). Specifically, we used these data to estimate the potential need for and receipt of such services for individuals at least aged 60 with incomes under 185 percent of the federal poverty guideline. Some individuals included in our analysis also have difficulties with daily activities.2 To estimate the unmet need for home-based care services like those provided by Title Ill programs, we used the University of Michigan's 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).3 Specifically, we used these data to estimate the number of older individuals in potential need of such services and compared it to our analysis of the 2012 HRS. We assessed the reliability of the data we used by reviewing relevant documentation and prior reports using the same data fields. We found the data to be reliable for our purposes. We conducted this performance audit from October 2023 to May 2024 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. In summary, we estimate that: 1GAO, Older Americans Act: Updated Information on Unmet Need for Services, GAO-1 5-601 R (Washington, D.C.: June 10, 2015). 2We used CPS questions about functional impairments including having cognitive impairments and/or difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) or activities of daily living (ADL) to identify older adults likely to have need for meals programs based on potential difficulties preparing or obtaining food. 3Data collection for the 2020 HRS took place from March 2020 to May 2021, during the COVID-1 9 pandemic. GAO-24-107513: Older Americans Act Unmet Need Page 1

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