Member Roundtable / Committee reminder - For additional engagement opportunities, we remind you that LeadingAge Indiana hosts many Roundtables / Committees for Provider and Associate members:
Weekly National Policy Pulse Calls. The calls are on Mondays at 3:30 p.m. ET. If you’re interested in signing up for these members-only calls, please sign up using the link on our National Policy Pulse webpage.
Housing Network Calls – every Monday at 12:30pm ET. Join the weekly Housing Network Call for a discussion on updates related to affordable housing. The Housing Network is open to all provider members of LeadingAge. For details on joining the Network and other affordable housing groups that LeadingAge convenes, visit their website or contact Juliana Bilowich & Linda Couch.
Most Recent Senior Housing Weekly Recap
For week ending - December 5, 2025
Homelessness Funding: The Battle Continues for HUD’s Permanent Supportive Housing Funding. A lawsuit filed by 20 states on November 25 seeks to block the Trump administration from moving forward with its shift from the current practice of using most homeless assistance funding for permanent supportive housing (PSH) to instead focus the majority funds on transitional housing. PSH is a successful, evidence-based model of housing assistance that embraces the “housing first” method of getting people housed first and then working with them to address any behavioral or other health issues they may have. The suit also argues that the plan, issued on November 13 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via the competition for the next round of homelessness funding, illegally bans funding for programs that focus on the needs of LGBTQIA2S+ people. To shed light on the numbers of people potentially impacted by the policy change, the National Alliance to End Homelessness published a state and local data tool to show what share of state and local Continuum of Care resources have been dedicated to PSH. On average, states use about 88% of their homeless assistance resources for PSH; HUD’s pivot caps this at 30%, leaving existing PSH residents at risk of losing their homes. While residents served by PSH vary, all PSH residents by definition have a disability, such as a mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability, and most were experiencing homelessness before they were housed.
Urgency For HUD’s Release of GRRP-C Guidance Grows: Impacts of Funding Delays on Property Preservation Feasibility. An analysis released by LeadingAge this week shows the impacts of continued delays by the HUD Department (HUD) on the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), a preservation program for affordable housing properties in climate-vulnerable areas. HUD froze the funding early in 2025, and a legal challenge thawed some award processing; however, much of the funding is still in limbo as HUD has yet to comply with a court order to proceed with processing comprehensive awards. LeadingAge's analysis argues that the ongoing funding delays are impacting other types of funding sources with looming deadlines, including financing through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and through HUD's Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). Read the full analysis here.
LIHEAP Funds: $3.6 Billion in Utility Assistance Funding Released by HHS after Delay. After delays related to the government shutdown this fall, HHS has released funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Used by eligible older adults (and other households), LIHEAP provides funding to offset household costs associated with energy use, primarily for heating costs in the winter, as well as for air conditioning in the summer. Last year, the funds were released by HHS in October; as this year's shutdown continued into November and the funds had not been released, LeadingAge heard concerns from affordable housing providers and other aging services settings in areas of the country already experiencing winter conditions. As of December 1, states have confirmed receipt of their award letters from HHS, allowing states to begin sending funding directly to households. These funds come at a key time when many household budgets were already stretched thin because of delays in disbursement of funds in other programs like food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); roughly 68% of LIHEAP recipients also receive SNAP, which partially lapsed during the shutdown. LeadingAge applauds the release of the funding to support winter heating for older adults.
Senate Holds Hearing on Aging in Place During the Holidays. On December 3, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, led by Chairman Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), held a hearing, “Aging in Place: The Impact of Community during the Holidays.” The discussion built upon the introduction of S 2120, the Older Americans Reauthorization Act (OAA), introduced earlier this year by Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Read LeadingAge’s statement for the hearing record here, and watch the hearing and read witness testimony here.
KFF Releases Tracking Tool for Medicaid Work Requirements. The July 4 enactment of HR 1 imposes many changes on state Medicaid programs. For states that have expanded Medicaid (41 of 51, including Washington DC), the expansion population will be subject to community engagement requirements, better known as work requirements, to keep their coverage starting in 2027. All 41 states are undergoing significant systems and policy changes to mobilize data collection and communication strategies in order to be compliant with the new law’s requirements. The tracker from KFF includes valuable information for states on requirements and timelines, along with data on the expansion population’s work and exemption status. View the tracker here.
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