On December 3, 2025, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, disability rights advocate and author Emily Ladau delivered moving testimony to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging titled “Aging in Place: The Impact of Community During the Holidays.” At just 34, Ladau shared a story that transcends age: the raw, human need to remain in the place we call home, surrounded by the people and routines that make life worth living. Her words, rooted in her own lifelong experience with disability and her family’s journey, struck at the heart of what this blog has always championed: Home is not just a location: it is dignity, autonomy, and love made tangible.
Ladau recounted sitting with her grandfather during what would be his final holiday at home. As he opened mail in his own kitchen, he wept over the simple joy of performing an ordinary task in the place he loved. “It’s the only time I ever saw him cry,” she told the committee. That moment crystallized a truth we see every day with our clients: Being forced out of home isn’t just inconvenient, it’s a profound loss of self.
She then turned the lens on her own life. Born with a physical disability, Ladau benefited from early intervention and New York’s Medicaid Care at Home waiver, services that gave her in-home therapy, home modifications, and the power wheelchair that has been her ticket to independence. Yet, as an adult, the $2,000 Medicaid asset limit, unchanged for over 35 years, forced an impossible choice: stay on Medicaid and remain financially trapped, or risk losing essential care to pursue marriage and career. She chose the risk, forgoing weekly in-home physical therapy she can no longer afford.
Now newly married and house-hunting in New Jersey, Ladau and her husband confront a brutal reality: accessible, affordable housing is almost nonexistent. The very supports that once kept her thriving at home are now out of reach, a warning for every senior who assumes Medicare, Medicaid, or savings will be enough.Why This Testimony Matters for Every Senior
Ladau’s story is powerful because it bridges generations. She reminded the committee that 43.9 % of adults with disabilities are 65 or older, and that most of us who aren’t disabled today will become disabled tomorrow, whether permanently or only for a short time. The barriers she faces, rigid asset limits, scarce accessible housing, and inadequate home-care funding, are the same ones that push countless seniors into nursing homes against their will.
The numbers are stark:
She then turned the lens on her own life. Born with a physical disability, Ladau benefited from early intervention and New York’s Medicaid Care at Home waiver, services that gave her in-home therapy, home modifications, and the power wheelchair that has been her ticket to independence. Yet, as an adult, the $2,000 Medicaid asset limit, unchanged for over 35 years, forced an impossible choice: stay on Medicaid and remain financially trapped, or risk losing essential care to pursue marriage and career. She chose the risk, forgoing weekly in-home physical therapy she can no longer afford.
Now newly married and house-hunting in New Jersey, Ladau and her husband confront a brutal reality: accessible, affordable housing is almost nonexistent. The very supports that once kept her thriving at home are now out of reach, a warning for every senior who assumes Medicare, Medicaid, or savings will be enough.Why This Testimony Matters for Every Senior
Ladau’s story is powerful because it bridges generations. She reminded the committee that 43.9 % of adults with disabilities are 65 or older, and that most of us who aren’t disabled today will become disabled tomorrow, whether permanently or only for a short time. The barriers she faces, rigid asset limits, scarce accessible housing, and inadequate home-care funding, are the same ones that push countless seniors into nursing homes against their will.
The numbers are stark:
- 75% of adults 50+ want to age in place (AARP 2025), and many people living in long-term care facilities characterize it as a "fate worse than death."
- Yet Medicaid’s $2,000 asset cap and long-term care waiting lists averaging 6–12 months force many into facilities (MACPAC 2025).
- Once there, isolation triples depression risk, falls rise 28 % (2025 JAGS and CNA data).
“This isn’t just about making treasured holiday memories… It’s about fostering a country where all of us can grow older assured by the notion that we will always have a place to call home.”
What We Can Do Today Because Tomorrow Isn’t Guaranteed
Emily Ladau’s testimony is a call to action at the policy level and in our own families. While we wait for Congress to modernize Medicaid’s 1980s-era asset limits or fund HCBS at the level seniors deserve, we can act by implementing a robust Aging-in-Place Plan, including a trust, powers of attorney, advanced directives, and Supported Decision-Making Agreements.
Emily Ladau reminded us that home is where memories are made, dignity is preserved, and love lives on. This holiday season, let her grandfather’s tears and her own fierce independence inspire you to plan, so you, too, can open your mail in your kitchen, surrounded by the people who matter most.
While this article has provided a heartfelt reflection on Emily Ladau’s testimony, it is by no means comprehensive. The fight for actual aging-in-place policy reforms continues. Readers must remain vigilant. By combining awareness with proactive planning, families can safeguard independence and thrive as they age in place.
Emily Ladau’s testimony is a call to action at the policy level and in our own families. While we wait for Congress to modernize Medicaid’s 1980s-era asset limits or fund HCBS at the level seniors deserve, we can act by implementing a robust Aging-in-Place Plan, including a trust, powers of attorney, advanced directives, and Supported Decision-Making Agreements.
Emily Ladau reminded us that home is where memories are made, dignity is preserved, and love lives on. This holiday season, let her grandfather’s tears and her own fierce independence inspire you to plan, so you, too, can open your mail in your kitchen, surrounded by the people who matter most.
While this article has provided a heartfelt reflection on Emily Ladau’s testimony, it is by no means comprehensive. The fight for actual aging-in-place policy reforms continues. Readers must remain vigilant. By combining awareness with proactive planning, families can safeguard independence and thrive as they age in place.
