This post originally appeared on the Gerontology Institute blog.

By Len Fishman, Gerontology Institute

Low-income elder Americans face a housing crisis today. We don’t have nearly enough decent, affordable housing for them, and our country’s aging population is adding waves of new seniors to the waiting lists every day.

States and the federal government generally do not build new affordable housing directly. Instead, they maintain a market-based system that allows private firms and nonprofits (many of them faith-based) to partner with government to build and preserve housing for low-income elders and the working poor.

For decades, this public-private partnership has been the main engine driving new construction and preservation of subsidized senior housing. With the passage of tax legislation in both houses, Congress now faces a stark choice. Read more.

Len Fishman directs the Gerontology Institute. His work focuses on research and policy, especially to combine affordable senior housing and health care in innovative and cost-effective ways.