Helping our nations Care givers

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MASSSENIOR ACTION METRO NORTH




The job of caring for ailing love ones is often Daunting. An unpaid army of 44.5 million is caring for our ailing adults
Are you prepared to be a care giver? “Boomers are shocked when they find out Medicare won’t pay for any long term care for chronic illness. As “Baby Boomers” age we must design a system we want to grow old in. “Care Manager to walk care givers thru maze of options.”Online Community:” offer array of resources for dealing with the bureaucracy and stress. States looking for new ways to provide support.
1. Tax incentives for care givers
2. Expand family and medical leave benefits
3.Comprehensive paid family leave insurance.
CHANGE MEDICARE “Custodial Service”
Medicaid-intended as a safety net for specific low income population, including disabled children. Will only reimburse people who have DEPLETED their assets.
Answers needed.
1How to relieve the financial burden of Americas 44.5 million family care givers
Tax incentives for elder care like those for child care
Steps government takes so the infirm need not spend down their assets to qualify for Medicaid..


FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
The system in our country is screwed up and that’s not be chance!!!!!
Enemies
There are people who do not want you to live in the most integrated setting
They will fight your efforts to make the state give people real choices about where to live.
WHO ARE YOUR REAL ENEMIES
Friends to watch our for!!
Groups that in theory want us to have choices about where to live but are:
1. Too timid at confronting public officials.
2.concerned about the public image and don’t want to ruffle feathers.
3. Against direct action, demonstrations
4.Disorganized and unable to make decisions.
Friends like these often derail good intentions and programs more effectively than enemies.

MY VIEW Howard McGowan
NURSES STAFFING
A problem to be solved to assure the safety and well being of the patients in Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Home Care, especially the vulnerable Senior population
One the present staffing bill before the legislature.
The nurses Union have their own agenda,UNION MEMBERSHIP
Ido not feel the effort for this bill will benefit Seniors


Massachusetts Health Care Insurance Law.
State wary of firms finding ways around new health law
1.Expand coverage from salaried staff to all full time employees and control costs by halving contributions to share employers contribution only 3 of 27 eligible took insurance
2. Up hours need to work coverage shift low wage worker to state coverage/
3. Split firm into separate corporations to have less than 11 employees in each. Don’t have to offer insurance
45.000 workers gained be employers picking up part of tab.
293.000 newly insured residents
½ way to cover nearly all residents.
EMPLOYERS

Shifting costs to state upsetting the delicate balance of responsibility
STATE TO CLOSE LOOPHOLES!?
For most working class people the health insurance is very expensive. Full time people have done the math and it is cheaper to pay the states penalty than even pay for ½ health insurance premium.
$219 penalty Next year to rise.
The Assault on Medicare
Editorial

No one who has reviewed the changes in
Medicare proposed by the Bush administration
and the Republican leadership in the
Congress any doubt regarding the motivation
behind the legislation. Corporate-tied conservatives
made a commitment to begin the process of privatizing
Medicare and they
are now delivering on that commitment.
Under the guise of creating a prescription
drug benefit, the proponents of the legislation ,
in fact, crafted a scheme designed to enrich
pharmaceutical companies while saddling
seniors with high co-pays and costs that will
continue to make needed medicines
unaffordable for millions of citizens.
Worse yet, the legislation seeks to use
billions of taxpayer dollars to break up
the Medicare program and hand the pieces
over to the same for-profit concerns that
have made the U.S. health care system
one of the costliest and most inefficient in
the world. So corrupt is the legislation that
it actually bans initiatives to lower drug prices.
SENIOR CENTERS SEEKS WAY TO BECOME RELEVANT
Malden Ma Senior Community Center scheduled opening December 2008
Boomers (50-60) Volunteering in Senior programs is a good way to become initially acquainted with the center
Outreach to older seniors, to their families to become involved
Outreach to and by the City Administration
Participation by our elected officials and appointed department heads.
Mayors Office
City councillors
Dept of human Services
All department Heads.
FACTS
“Baby Boomers “don’t like being called Seniors
Senior Centers making changes in programs to draw them in
Need convincing that the older elderly have been active in getting the facilities needed for aging in place and their should be mutual accommodation between recreation and health programs for all ages.
WE need expansion not change.
Calling it “Community Outreach and Resource Center” “Adult Resource Center” Should not change the mission.
Getting Old is nothing to fear
Face reality and face the “curve balls” health wise that may come your way.
Encourage volunteering
1. Tax work off program
2 House other community activities,
Food Pantry
Mentor Programs
Medical Facilities
Issues common ground with our older seniors 18,000 strong in Malden

Metro North MSAC
Goals For The Year
1.
Utilize resources for family care givers.
Expand senior services to under served rural communities
Lead public and private foundations and other nonprofit toward the concept of having elder-ready communities
Be more involved in city, county and community planning processes.
Develop a membership coordination center
As the Baby Boomers continue to enter retirement, the U.S. faces one of the most dramatic demographic shifts in its history. The baby boom ran from 1946 to 1960, during which time the fertility rate in the United States was nearly twice its 20th century average. Because a high proportion -- slightly under a quarter -- of the current population was born in that period, their age has a strong influence on the average of the population. Thus the U.S. is, on average, growing older because of the baby boomers. This shift has strong implications for factors that depend on the age distribution of the population, like per-person productivity, health care costs, the savings rate, and social security funding.






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