Two research reports published by the Urban Institute reveal the challenges that older adults with disabilities and lower incomes face meeting basic everyday needs and accessing supportive services that they need to live independently.
The research draws on data from Urban’s December 2025 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS), a nationally representative survey that monitors individual and family well-being.
- The first report – titled One in Four Older Adults With Disabilities Had Unmet Needs for Personal Assistance in 2025 – found that these same individuals were more likely to have problems paying family medical bills (29.5 percent) and to forgo needed health care because of the cost (44.4 percent).
- The second report – titled Many Older Adults Experienced Material Hardship in 2025, with Wide Disparities by Income and Health Status – found that 36.6 percent of older adults reported one or more material hardships in 2025, such as food insecurity; problems paying the rent, mortgage, or utility bills; or difficulty affording health care.
Funding cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the 2025 budget reconciliation law may only exacerbate the situation for these vulnerable populations, according to the Urban Institute.
