Health Affairs January 21, 2026
Efforts to improve care for older adults in the United States have focused heavily on safety, cost containment, and use. Falls, readmissions, medication management, and length-of-stay dominate quality reporting and reimbursement frameworks in postacute and long-term care. These measures matter. Yet, one of the strongest predictors of outcomes for older adults remains largely absent from accountability structures: mobility.
Mobility is often treated as a therapeutic outcome rather than a system-level performance indicator. Once formal therapy sessions conclude, movement frequently disappears from routine care. Older adults sit longer, walk less, and struggle with basic transfers, such as moving from sitting to standing or from bed to chair. Over time, this pattern produces predictable functional decline that is frequently mislabeled as inevitable...
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