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Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter Volume 1, Number 3, May 2007 This bimonthly e-newsletter highlights key developments and viewpoints in the field of aging policy from a wide variety of sources, including articles and reports circulating in the media, academy, think tanks, private sector, government and nonprofit organizations. The goal of this email publication is to reach teachers, students, and citizens interested in aging-related issues, especially those who may not have access to policy information disseminated both in Washington and around the country.
I. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON? A. Medicaid Long-Term Care: As the nation's population ages and
more individuals are likely to need long-term care services, federal
Medicaid spending is expected to nearly double in size during the
next 10 years. This new GAO report discusses financial and functional
eligibility criteria related to Medicaid coverage for long-term
care. Click here
to view. B. Businesses Speak Out About Health Care: This new report from
the Center for American Progress provides key insights into the
challenges facing employer-based health insurance. Through extensive
interviews, these case studies highlight companies' decisions about
employee health care packages and strategies for determining health
benefits amid rising costs over time. Click
here to view. C. Medicare Program Efficiency and Integrity: A hearing held April
18, 2007 by the Subcommittee on Health. Click here
to view. II. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY? A. National Spending for Long-Term Care: This report from the Health
Policy Institute offers a breakdown of long-term care spending,
including a chart that graphs the payers of the nation's $192 billion
spent on long-term care. Click here
to view. B. Long-Term Care: An AARP Survey of New York Residents Age 50+: This AARP research report presents findings from a survey of New York residents age 50 and older that examines their opinions about where they would prefer to receive, and concerns about financing, their long-term care. Click here to view. C. What is the Managed Long-Term Care Expansion Initiative?: The
Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Division of
Disability and Elder Services, has launched an initiative to expand
managed long-term care options for elders and people with disabilities
in Wisconsin through the Managed Long-Term Care Expansion Initiative.
The initiative focuses on improving access, choice, quality, and
cost-effectiveness of long-term care. Click here
to view. III. THIS ISSUE'S MAJOR POLICY STORY: LONG-TERM CARE The contents of this issue of the Public Policy & Aging e-Newsletter
reflect what our subscribers know: national health care insurance
dominates the headlines. Voters press presidential candidates for
their plans to reform parts of Medicare, Medicaid, and the oversight
of employer-sponsored health care plans. Policy analysts inside
and out of the Beltway are seizing their chance to propose reforms
for problems in the status quo identified decades ago--gaps in coverage,
inequities in payments for individual and institutional services,
as well as the need for evidence-based assessments of the cost effectiveness
of the dollars we spend on making and keeping Americans healthful. If, as the Constitution tells us, our Federal Government was established among other things, 'to promote the general welfare,' then it is our plain duty to provide that security upon which welfare depends...through social insurance. Social insurance, Roosevelt believed, spreads risks and benefits across the population in a manner consistent with time-tested American principles. Think about his legacy as you read the articles in this passage. A. Medicare and Long-Term Care: From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a comprehensive overview of long-term care that details steps to choose, types of, and how to pay for long-term care. Click here to view. B. Financing Long-Term Care: A background brief on long-term care
(LTC) from the Kaiser Family Foundation that provides resources
on financing and policy research on long-term care. Also included
are links to PowerPoint presentations on financing long-term care,
long-term care policy, and caregiving for the disabled. Click here
to view. C. The Long-Term Care Workforce: Can the Crisis be Fixed?: This
new report from the Institute for the Future of Aging Services addresses
long-term care workforce problems affecting frail and disabled older
adults who receive care in nursing home, residential facilities,
and home-based settings. Click here
to view. D. Medicaid and Long-Term Care: How Will Rising Costs Affect Services
for an Aging Population?: This Boston College Center for Retirement
Research Issue Brief explores trends in Medicaid spending on long-term
care and the implications of its rapid growth for taxpayers and
for the needs of an aging population. Click here
to view. - Andy Achenbaum IV. WORTH NOTING A. Facts for Features, Older Americans Month: Click here to view a statistical report by the U.S. Department of Commerce that provides up-to-date demographics on older Americans. B. Trends in Healthcare Use Among Older Women: This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report addresses the unique health challenges that face the growing demographic of women age 65 and older. Click here to view. C. The State of Aging and Health in America: This current report
presents a snapshot of the health and aging landscape in the United
States and provides a "State-by-State Report Card" that
shows comparisons of key health indicators between states. Click
here to view. V. WHAT'S HAPPENING ABROAD? A. Half of All Countries Have No Formalized End-of-Life Care: New research published by The International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC) has found that an estimated half of the world's 234 countries have no palliative care services available to their populations. The report includes a map, one of the first of its kind, which provides a graphic illustration of the variability of palliative care worldwide. Click here to view. B. Why Population Aging Matters, A Global Perspective: Click here to view this new report released by the Department of State that addresses the need to raise awareness on the importance of rigorous cross-national scientific research, policy dialogue, and financial preparation for the fast-growing world population of older adults. C. The Aging of Korea: Demographics and Retirement Policy in the
Land of the Morning Calm: This new report from CSIS examines the
stunning demographic transformation occurring in Korea-a relatively
young nation today-which by 2050 may be one of the oldest countries
on earth. The study reviews the changes in policy and culture that
need to be put in place now to sustain the country in the years
to come. Click here
to view. VI. PERSPECTIVES ON POLICY: ROB HUDSON, EDITOR, PP&AR In recent years, both the biological and social sciences have generated
remarkable insights centered on the cognitive and adaptive abilities
of older adults. Science centers provide an environment for older
adults to incorporate science into their lives, giving these adults
a set of new experiences and a chance to utilize their skills. In
an exciting application of these findings, the Winter 2007 issue
of Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR) illustrates how
science centers such as museums, aquariums, planetariums, and the
agencies associated with the aging network can work together to
benefit both themselves and today's diverse aging population. View the table of contents for this special PP&AR issue here. To purchase the current issue of PP&AR, or to subscribe, click
here. The Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter is a free bimonthly email publication. If you have been forwarded this by a colleague and would like to subscribe, please click here and type “Subscribe” in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please click here and type “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. Newsletter Editors: Ellyn Emsley and Greg O'Neill, National Academy
on an Aging Society; Andy Achenbaum, University of Houston.
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