APTQI Commends the National Council on Aging for its National Falls Prevention Plan

October 6, 2025

With one in four Americans over the age of 65 falling each year, our country can, and must, do more to mitigate fall-related injuries and deaths. While falls take a major toll on the quality of life and independence of our nation’s seniors and increase healthcare costs across the board, the good news is that falls are completely preventable. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) recently released a National Falls Prevention Action Plan outlining six simple steps to reduce older Americans’ risk of falls:

  1. Expand awareness through a national communications campaign to educate the public about falls and falls prevention.
  2. Broaden funding through increased spending on falls prevention awareness, screening, assessment, intervention, and management.
  3. Scale evidence-based interventions through expanded clinical interventions and community-based prevention programs.
  4. Coordinate clinical and community partnerships, as well as an infrastructure that supports collaboration among providers, community-based aging networks, and social service providers.
  5. Harness technology through collaboration among hardware and software developers with falls experts.
  6. Improve data collection and research to strengthen falls and falls prevention information.

“As a nation, we can do much more to help older adults avoid falls and their devastating effects and costs,” said Ramsey Alwin, NCOA president and CEO.

APTQI understands that a key aspect of prevention includes a falls risk assessment from the falls experts – physical and occupational therapists. Thankfully, lawmakers in Washington are considering the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (S. 2612/H.R. 1171).

If passed, the SAFE Act would allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive a no-cost falls risk assessment from a physical or occupational therapist as part of their annual wellness visit. As falls rates continue to rise, we urge Congress to swiftly pass the SAFE Act and protect seniors nationwide.

To urge your lawmakers to support the SAFE Act, CLICK HERE.