Planning for Aging
Many states are developing multi-sector plans for aging. Learn how these plans are advancing and helping the country prepare for a larger population of older adults with our resources.
View all in Planning for Aging Topic
Finding Harmony: Coordinating Support for Aging and Disability Populations
As America ages, states are facing a pivotal challenge: How to support older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers in ways that are coordinated, person-centered, and sustainable. Two major movements address this challenge: No Wrong Door systems and Multisector Plans for Aging (MPAs).At first glance, they may seem like separate melodies. But in reality, they are deeply connected an...
Under the Magnifying Glass: A Wave of Drug Price Transparency
Recent federal actions by Congress, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Trade Commission have placed pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) transparency at the forefront of drug pricing policy. New disclosure requirements aim to help health plans better understand PBM revenues, drug costs, and potential conflicts of interest—and use that information to make more informed purchasing decisions and hold...
Launch Price and Access Report: Drug Approvals from 2022-2025
ICER and West Health developed the 2026 “Launch Price and Access Report”, an independent analysis of drug prices and patient access for newly launched FDA-approved treatments. This Launch Price and Access Report analyzes launch price trends over four years (2022-2025). It also includes an in-depth review of patient access to newly launched drugs using real-world pharmacy and medical claims data, a...
Owned, Owed, or Rented: How Housing Shapes Retirement Security
Housing is often treated as a backdrop to retirement, but it is one of the strongest determinants of whether older adults can meet their basic needs. The Elder Index measures the income older adults require to live independently with dignity, accounting for essential expenses such as housing, healthcare, food, transportation, and other necessities. Unlike the federal poverty guideline, it reflects...
EngAging Illinois: Building a Multisector Plan for Aging
When Illinois released EngAging Illinois in January 2026, it marked more than a policy milestone to address the needs of older adults in the state. It reflected years of organizing and cross-sector relationship building that helped turn an idea into a statewide plan for action—a multisector plan for aging (MPA), as these plans are increasingly called across the country. Among the early forces behi...
Feelings Meet Facts: What We See When We Overlay Our Gallup Survey on the City Checkup
Nearly one in four U.S. workers, about 23 million people, say they're staying in a job they want to leave because they're afraid of losing their health insurance.1 Researchers call this job lock, and according to new research from our West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America, it's risen eight percentage points since 2021.1,2 That's a feeling, captured the way we capture feelings through ...
Inside the West Health City Checkup
Not one of the 789 cities graded by the West Health City Checkup earned an A. Rockville, Maryland, ranked first in the country, earns the single highest grade anyone achieved: a B+. Its Safety & Security domain, on its own, sits at only the 72nd percentile.1 Strong, not flawless, and that's true of the best report card in America.That's not a flaw in the measurement. It's the finding, and that’s w...
America's Cities Just Got a Checkup
Today, 789 American cities took the same checkup. Not one earned an A. West Health graded all of them, A+ to F, across seven dimensions of daily life: financial security, infrastructure, mental and behavioral health, physical environment, physical health, safety, and social connection. Rockville, Maryland earned the best report card in the country, a B+. Memphis, Tennessee ranked 789th out of 789....
Aging with Dignity: Missouri’s Plan to Support an Aging Population
When Missouri released “Aging with Dignity: Missouri’s Master Plan on Aging“ in February 2026, it joined a growing number of states using cross-agency, cross-sector plans to better coordinate policies and services for older adults. The plan grew out of mounting recognition that Missouri’s aging population was growing, yet its infrastructure and services were underequipped to effectively support th...