Health care policy starts with knowing how many people need medical and other care, and the actions they take to obtain it. This three-wave study, sponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics, is the first follow-up of the Longitudinal Study of Aging, conducted a decade ago to address critical questions about the health and health care of older Americans. In addition to replicating information collected in the first study, particularly pertaining to health and functional status, the new study is designed to provide a mechanism for monitoring the impact of proposed changes in Medicare and Medicaid, as well as shifts towards managed health care for older Americans. The baseline wave of the new survey was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Second Supplement on Aging to the 1994 National Health Interview Survey. NORC was chosen to conduct the second and third waves. The latter involved 7,361 respondents interviewed over a nine-month period.