|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Senior Citizen Opinions & Analysis
Aging of America Will Affect Every Part of Society,
Touch Every Family
Senior citizens deserve best quality of life our nation can
afford
By Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman
Senate Special Committee on Aging
 June 4, 2007 - Generation by generation, the face
of America is always changing. In the next quarter of a century, the
laugh lines of that face will deepen as the number of older Americans
explodes. Today those over 65 account for 12 percent of our population;
in 2030, they will account for 20 percent. Academic experts, policy
wonks, economists, and health care providers are conjecturing broadly
about how this demographic wave will affect our society. As Chairman of
the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I am listening carefully.
It is the charge of the Aging Committee to plan
accordingly for the challenges facing our seniors tomorrow, and to
tackle the problems confronting them today. Older American Month, which
occurs each May, gives us an opportunity to highlight these issues—but
let me assure you that it is impossible to relegate senior issues into
one neat category, and soon it will be impossible to confine our
attention to them to just one month.
Nearly every issue dealt with by Congress affects
older Americans, or is affected by them, in a unique way. From
emergency preparedness to broadcast technology, from the size of the
labor force to regulation of corporate marketing practices, these issues
are worthy of our attention from the older person’s perspective. Then
there are, of course, the more obvious challenges ahead of us, such as
preserving Social Security, strengthening Medicare, and improving
long-term care.
In the last five months alone, the Aging Committee
has held hearings on a myriad of matters that are of vital concern to
seniors. We have examined healthcare coverage for America’s poorest
seniors under Medicare Part D’s Low-Income Subsidy. We heard from the
Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve about the impact that millions of
retiring Baby Boomers will have on our nation’s economy, and we learned
about how best to retain and cater to the needs of older workers.
We have deliberated on the progress made by the
nursing home industry over the last twenty years, as well as what
currently needs to be done about the most neglectful, decrepit homes.
Our investigative unit has shone a bright light on the shameful,
deceptive sales tactics employed by certain providers of private
Medicare Advantage plans.
We have put forth compelling evidence for the
continuation of SeniorCare, Wisconsin’s highly efficient drug coverage
program, in spite of the Administration’s desire to terminate it. And,
I couldn’t be more pleased to say, we worked with the rest of the
Wisconsin delegation and in collaboration with Governor Jim Doyle to
find a legislative fix to save SeniorCare, extending the program through
December 31, 2009.
As demonstrated by the work I’ve described, it is
easy to see that protecting seniors—whether from fraud, poverty, or
mistreatment—is a priority for the Aging Committee. However, it is also
our priority to enable them: though older Americans are often
considered to be a vulnerable segment of the population, in many ways
senior citizens strengthen our society. America’s seniors have had
decades to master skills and garner accomplishments, often rendering
them our best leaders and innovators. A lot of them are out in the
forefront of professional fields, staying active within community and
family life in various capacities, and leading by example.
The aging of America will affect every part of our
society and it will touch every family in decades to come. We reap the
benefits of the continued contributions of older Americans, and in
return they deserve the best quality of life our nation can afford them.
Editor's Note: This column was written in May 2007
to recognize Older American Month.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
