Berkshire Senior Online

by Catherine R. May, Executive Director

‘02- A Good Year for Older Americans ????

Last year (2001) was to have been the year when Medicare was improved by the addition a Prescription Drug Plan for beneficiaries; it was also the year when a Commission designated by President Bush was to come up with recommendations to improve the financial health and longevity of the Social Security System. Then came September 11, and forward movement on all but homeland security and the elimination of terrorism rightfully consumed our leaders as well as the common folks.

Six months later, we continue our important focus on defeating terrorism and strengthening homeland security, but, at the federal level, there are signs that the needs of the nation’s elders are again on the public radar screen.

In his recent State of the Union Address, President Bush again committed his administration to seeing that a Prescription Drug benefit becomes available to lower income Medicare consumers, preferably through federal contributions to individual states’ prescription drug plans. Happily, Massachusetts already has the Prescription Advantage Plan in place, for Medicare consumers of all income levels, with associated costs based upon your income. Federal assistance to supplement the state funds in order to increase access for low income commonwealth elders would be most welcome. How great the federal contribution will be may be very heavily impacted by the recession and the dwindling domestic budget.

Older Americans Act programs like Meals on Wheels have received small increases in funding, but for this year, no major increases are likely. Any expansions in federal funding, with the current recession and massive war and homeland security costs continuing to grow, added to the recent tax cuts, will only drive up the levels of deficit funding.

Serious consideration of the ills of the Social Security System is not expected, despite the recommendations of the Bush Commission on Social Security. The Commission’s support of individuals having the option to invest a portion of their Social Security funds in the stock market no longer seems as wise a concept as some thought it was a year ago. Projections of the Trustees regarding when Social Security will run out of money, and how it will serve the "Age Wave" of baby boomers might force this concern to be discussed.

On the state level, 2002 is also not looking like a good year for older persons. The late and greatly lamented fiscal year ‘02 budget requires cutting back a variety of services to seniors. The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, John Rogers, has written telling fellow representatives that the sharply declining tax revenues, based on tax cuts and slow revenue growth, will result in tax revenues for fiscal year 2003, which begins July 1,2002, to be $600 to $900 million less than the tax revenue for ‘02.

There is much talk at both the state and federal highest levels about the domestic priorities of education and health care; usually seen through the prism of the needs of "families". Unfortunately, many older persons are no longer defined as members of families - they may be widows or widowers, and their children may have long fled the nest - do the leaders who focus exclusively on families realize how many people are not now members of a traditional family? Families are important, but they do not include many seniors, and many others too.

2002 is not looking like a good year for Older Americans, based upon federal support, nor does it appear that the sometimes generous commonwealth of Massachusetts will this time be able to plug the growing holes in senior services. Tax cuts and recessions force legislators to make hard decisions about what will be funded. At present, seniors and their advocates have much work to do to see that controlling sending does not mean gutting senior programs.

As stated repeatedly in this column, the "institutional bias" that leads to inadequate funding of services to help seniors stay in their homes is not only a quality of life issue, it is a cost issue. State cuts to home care services that force elders into nursing homes, where Medicaid will soon pay for their care, end up costing the state and federal governments more - much more.