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NANASP remembers the late David Pryor of Arkansas. NANASP Executive Director, Bob Blancato, notes, "He was a champion for older adults. I especially recall his outstanding leadership as Chair of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. He cared and he made a difference."
NANASP Letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - April 2024
As Executive Director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP), along with the undersigned groups below write to commend you and CMS for taking a proactive stance with your communication to members of the insurance industry on December 14th of last year. We are writing on behalf of millions of older Americans as well as patients from across the country to advance policies that support their well-being of and advocate for removing barriers that impede it. You raised concerns about certain practices by some plans and pharmacy benefit managers that threaten the viability of pharmacies, impede access to care and put increased burden on health care providers. We most certainly share your concerns. READ MORE
NANASP AND MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA ALARMED BY
FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS TO SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAMS
March 26, 2024
Final federal funding bill for Fiscal Year 2024 cuts $8 million from senior nutrition programs, representing a worst-case scenario for local programs that already lack adequate funding to meet growing need.
Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander and NANASP Executive Director Bob Blancato today issued the following statement regarding the final FY 2024 funding package, including Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) where Older Americans Act nutrition programs are funded:
As leaders of the nationwide network of senior nutrition programs and the millions of older Americans they serve, we find it unacceptable that the funding package signed over the weekend includes a .8% cut – $8 million – to the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program, the primary legislation that funds Meals on Wheels. On the heels of the anniversary of the OAA Nutrition Program, this is unfathomable. Read the full statement here.
NANASP AND MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA FEATURED IN THE HILL
On January 20, The Hill published NANASP's Bob Blancato and Meals on Wheels America's Ellie Hollander joint op-ed, Senior hunger takes no holiday — Congress must invest more in Older Americans Act Nutrition Program, calling for congressional responsibility and urgency to fund the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program at $1.284 billion. We also urge the president to include the OAA Nutrition Program in any supplemental funding request. Read the full op-ed on The Hill here.
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NANASP and Meals on Wheels America leaders on Capitol Hill During the height of the legislative efforts to avoid a government shutdown, NANASP Executive Director Bob Blancato joined Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander and Chief Government and External Affairs Officer Erika Debrick Kelly to meet with various members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. In their meetings, they hand delivered a letter to Senators and Representatives to increase FY24 funding to #SaveLunch for seniors and pass a CR without any cuts. We repeatedly heard that Members of Congress want to better understand the local picture of our senior nutrition programs. |
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A few photos from the many meetings this week including Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate LHHS Subcommittee, and House Minority Whip Representative Katherine Clark's staff.
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