Oconto County Commission on Aging’s Blog

Other important beneficiary provisions NCOA supported include improving
access to Medicare preventive care and mental health services.

Thanks to all of the grassroots advocates across the country who called and
e-mailed their senators and representatives in support of H.R. 6331. Your
participation helped to generate the strong, bipartisan support needed to
pass the bill.

. <http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/LXXMJACKOP/2232851686> Read
NCOA’s summary of H.R. 6331

2. Join Us for NCOA Advocacy Day, Sept. 23

On Tuesday, Sept. 23, join fellow advocates from across the country on
Capitol Hill for a morning briefing on important aging issues and afternoon
visits with your senators and representatives.

Over the past several years, NCOA’s annual Advocacy Day has grown
significantly in size, and our presence “on the Hill” is continuing to
increase! This is an excellent opportunity to get more involved in aging
public policy advocacy, meet other professionals doing similar work, and
influence the direction of Congress on aging issues. An agenda will be
included in an upcoming edition of Public Policy Update and also will be
posted to our Web site.

An online registration form will be available on NCOA’s Web site by early
next week.

A block of rooms has been reserved at Washington, DC’s Beacon Hotel (1615
Rhode Island Ave., NW). The rate is $249, and rooms must be reserved by
Monday, Aug. 18. To reserve a spot, please call 800-821-4367 and indicate
that you are with the National Council on Aging meeting. Other hotel options
can be found using online search tools such as
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/KYDIJACKOQ/2232851686>
www.expedia.com,
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/LHNPJACKOR/2232851686>
www.travelocity.com,
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/FYEDJACKOS/2232851686>
www.hotwire.com, or many others.

If you have questions, please contact Sara Clary at sara.clary@ncoa.org or
(202) 479-6678.

3. Congress Considers Relief Efforts in Economic Slowdown

* This week, the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee held a
hearing entitled State Fiscal Relief: Protecting Health Coverage in an
Economic Downturn. Witnesses discussed
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/EINAJACKOT/2232851686> H.R. 5268,
introduced by Health Subcommittee Chairman Pallone (D-NJ) , which would
provide a temporary increase of 2.95 percent in the Federal Medical
Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which is the amount the federal government
provides to states to help finance their Medicaid programs.

<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/JYOMJACKOU/2232851686>
Read the witness testimony

* Congress also is considering a second economic stimulus package to
help Americans cope with the steady rise in gasoline, food, housing, and
other costs. This week, Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Dingell (D-MI)
said, “I believe that before the fall is here we will have a second stimulus
package that will include a targeted and temporary increase in assistance
for Medicaid.”

In addition to supporting the FMAP increase, NCOA and other organizations
are advocating for a temporary increase in food stamp benefits and the
amount states receive in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program grants.
These increases would have a direct, positive impact on the pocketbooks of
economically vulnerable Americans across the country.

4. Food Stamp Usage Hits High

Over 28 million people used food stamps in April 2008-1.75 million more than
the same time last year, according to the Food Research and Action Center.
Although the participation is increasing, one in three eligible individuals
are still not receiving the benefit.

According to a
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/EBSTJACKOV/2232851686> new poll by
the AARP Bulletin almost half of respondents aged 45+ believe that food
prices are negatively impacting their budget. Over half said they have
started using discount coupons at grocery stores and started buying generic
grocery brand items, and one in five has started eating fewer meals.

5. Long-Term Care Links

* Ecumen, a large nonprofit senior housing company, has developed 10
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/FLRVJACKOW/2232851686> Reasons
Long-Term Care Financing Needs to be Reformed in America for presumptive
presidential candidates Sens. McCain and Obama. According to the Long-Term
Care National Survey, eight in 10 voters say presidential candidates should
make long-term care an integral part of their healthcare proposals.
* AARP recently released a new report, A Balancing Act: State
Long-Term Care Reform, which examines states’ efforts to balance long-term
care reform under Medicaid for older people and younger adults with
disabilities. Although there is a movement within the advocacy community to
offer more services in the home and community-based setting (HCBS), there is
still an institutional bias under Medicaid. The report found that only four
states-Alaska, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington-spent more than 50 percent
of their budgets on HCBS for older adults and people with disabilities. The
vast majority still spend more than 50 percent of their long-term care
budgets on institutional-level care.
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/NCXDJACKOX/2232851686> Read the
report.

6. Momentum Builds to Reconsider Poverty Measure

Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a new method to
measure poverty. Under it, the number of elderly poor nearly doubles, from
18 percent to 32 percent, mostly because of healthcare costs. The original
method for calculating poverty was based on the amount a household spent on
food; the new method takes into account other important costs, such as
housing. In total, more than 400,000 more New Yorkers would be classified as
poor.

Sen. Obama supports the new method. According to his spokesman Nick Shapiro,
“Senator Obama believes that we should modernize the federal poverty
guidelines to more accurately reflect the costs of living and the economic
pressures on American families. Without an accurate measure of poverty and
economic insecurity in America, we will not be able to fully tackle the
effects of these problems on our children and families.”

Rep. McDermott (D-WA), chairman of the Committee on Income Security and
Family Support, held a hearing on establishing a modern poverty measure last
week. Rep. McDermott has prepared draft legislation that, like the New York
City method, is based on a 1995 recommendation to Congress from the National
Academy of Sciences.

Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), a Washington, DC based organization
that works to create economic independence for American’s families, women,
and girls. Along with the Gerontology Institute at the University of
Massachusetts Boston created the Elder Economic Security Index (EESI) to
develop a measure to demonstrate the amount of income needed for elder
people to remain independent and meet their daily expenses. WOW also
supports the work of reexamining the current measure for poverty in the U.S.
and supports the draft legislation introduced by Rep. McDermott.
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/NVGQJACKOY/2232851686> Read more
about WOW and their work on economic security.

7. Disease Prevention Could Lead to Significant Savings

The Trust for America’s Health has found that a small investment in disease
prevention can lead to significant savings for both public and private
healthcare programs. Prevention
<http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/MYNQJACKKC/FNVHJACKOZ/2232851686> for a
Healthier America found that a modest investment of $10 per person per year
in proven community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve
nutrition, and prevent smoking and other tobacco use could save the country
more than $16 billion annually within five years.

According to the report, the evidence shows that implementing these programs
in communities reduces rates of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure by
five percent within two years; reduces heart disease, kidney disease, and
stroke by five percent within five years; and reduces some forms of cancer,
arthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 2.5 percent within
10 to 20 years.

******
The NCOA Public Policy Update is published by the National Council on Aging.
CopyrightC 2008. NCOA, 1901 L St., NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20036,
www.ncoa.org.

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