Diverse Elders Coalition

10/22/2026

State Attorney General William Tong, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-2nd District), discuss new work - 'People will die because of this': health care advocates discuss new federal work requirements for Medicaid.

This scares health care advocates like Kristen Daniels.

“There's just no doubt that eventually people will die because of this legislation,” Daniels said at a recent roundtable at with U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, state Attorney General William Tong, state Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves, and regional stakeholders in Norwich.

Daniels, who lives with Type 1 Diabetes and is the federal co-lead for the nonprofit T1International, said that she has received thousands of comments on social media expressing “sheer confusion … and despair” about the new work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as H.R. 1.

“It's a really scary time to be living with a disability,” Daniels said. “Insurance is just honestly the difference between life and death. I’ve been uninsured, I've had to ration my insulin, and I know people's families who have lost their children due to insulin rationing.”

“There's so many people that are stuck in this emergency situation where we don't have time to worry about the paperwork of enrollment into insurance,” Daniels added. “And at a certain point, the barriers are going to become too much where people just don't seek it anymore. … They're going to end up in the ER if they're lucky. I know many people who didn't make it that far.” https://buff.ly/Ovu0gwF

10/20/2026

in battleground states seeking to flip control of Congress in November are counting on a potent weapon: the deep to that approved last year in their signature known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In recent Senate debates in , , , , and , Democratic candidates went after their opponents for supporting the law, which will reduce federal funding to the low-income health insurance program by hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming years. They also vowed to the money to the if elected.

Democrats’ confidence in their health care message is showing up in polling, on the airwaves and on the debate stage.

10/20/2026

Many older adults are encountering emerging artificial intelligence that can be both and , especially in the workplace.

The upstate New York senior population is working to understand and accept and not be intimidated by it.

“And in the beginning, I didn't really use it at all. I don't rely on it a lot; I think I would say that I use it as an accessory," said Jennifer.

She has since learned to embrace it, creating food and w**e pairing menus for special events.

"It's been a revelation. I think to understand how fast it is and what it can do," said Jennifer.

Many older adults are encountering emerging artificial intelligence that can be both useful and confusing, especially in the workplace.

10/17/2026

The future of four large networks that test and for H.I.V., tuberculosis and emerging infectious diseases is in after weeks of delays from the Trump administration in launching the process to renew their funding.

to medical research spending have become a chronic issue during the second Trump administration, and funding for the networks may yet be renewed. But some scientists warned that any delays could jeopardize the safety of participants in clinical trials, derail time-sensitive studies and disrupt staffing and resources.

https://buff.ly/RAnkZGx

10/16/2026

Many caregivers aren't aware of the available supports, she said, in part because they might not e ven consider themselves caregivers until someone else points out the duties they perform.

"If you ask them, 'Do you shop for someone? Do you help someone pay a ball? Do you ever do yard work?' That same person who is identified as not being a caregiver will often say yes," she said.

"They are the backbone of our healthcare system, and so if they're not taking care of themselves, they may end up in a position where they themselves need care," she said.

CONCORD, N.H. — For Jessica Renda, the breaking point was a particularly chaotic Christmas season. Consumed by her eldest daughter’s mental and behavioral health struggles, she stopped exercising or ...

10/14/2026

As ’s population ages, taking care of its older residents is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. From the stress of isolation to a shortage of workers to complicated federal Medicare guidelines, this guide helps Mainers learn about the services, technology and resources available to caregivers and the parents, spouses, neighbors and friends they’re caring for.

In a rural state like Maine, the and toll of — known as caregiver — is compounded by an that aging experts say is all too common, placing both the caregivers and the people they’re caring for at greater risk of depression, illness and death.

Aging experts say that building a support network early and taking advantage of services like respite care can help lighten the weight of caregiver fatigue in a rural state.

10/14/2026

For Jessica Renda, the breaking point was a particularly chaotic Christmas season. Consumed by her eldest daughter’s mental and behavioral health struggles, she stopped exercising or doing anything else that brought her joy. Forget holiday magic, she was barely hanging on.

“After that, I was like, ‘I really need to take of myself,’” she said. “We always tell people that old cliché: It’s like the oxygen mask on a plane. But it’s really true. You can’t be a successful or good to somebody else if you’re not taking care of yourself.”

https://buff.ly/HujH25G

Nearly one in four adults in the United States provide care to adults or children with medical conditions or disabilities, and that number is on the rise.

10/09/2026

Improving working conditions and credentialing for care to match those offered by other healthcare settings would yield “significant returns,” according to the authors of a new Brookings Institution paper.

“Our results demonstrate that turnover is high in all long-term care industries, including assisted living, and that many workers who exit long-term care settings to other industries experience wage gains and improvements in benefits access,”

Improving working conditions and credentialing for direct care workers to match those offered by other healthcare settings would yield “significant returns,” according to the authors of a new Brookings Institution paper.

10/09/2026

A UCLA study links faster to specific bacteria and chemical byproducts, with older-looking brains also associated with poorer memory, focus, and mood. The findings suggest that biological signs of brain aging may appear decades before obvious symptoms and could eventually make the gut a target for .

A UCLA study links faster brain aging to specific gut bacteria and chemical byproducts, with older-looking brains also associated with poorer memory, focus, and mood. The findings suggest that biological signs of brain aging may appear decades before obvious symptoms and could eventually make the gu...

10/08/2026

This year, our advocacy around disaggregation holds an added sense of urgency. Its significance has only grown amid a federal landscape that has become increasingly hostile to the communities it is meant to serve, dismantling policies and programs that for decades have supported our communities.

the and data collection and reporting of SEAA populations across all federal agencies has remained a cornerstone civil rights issue for our broader communities for over 30 years. https://buff.ly/hHolbrk

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

The leader of Southeast Asia Resource Action Center details the decades-long fight to gain more detailed data on Southeast Asian American communities in the US at the federal level.