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Elder Rights: United States

Archives: 2003

Confusion and worry among Bay Area seniors (December 9, 2003) 
Many older San Francisco residents are concerned about how the new Medicare law will affect them. Seniors complain that not enough information is available to help them understand the complicated law, and several interviewed in this article worry that their existing health plans may be in jeopardy. 76-year-old Hilda Rosenfeld Bernstein, a retired public health administrator, says, “This is a giveaway to drug manufacturers and HMOs, taking away a tremendous amount of security from older adults.”

How Some Patients In New-Drug Trials Can Get Cutt Off (December 8, 2003)
In order to develop a new treatment, drugs companies experiment on human subjects with the drug. They ask for volunteers, who agree to take the medicine, to see if it’s working or not. Most persons who become guinea pigs feel desperate but a trial offers hope. The shame of this kind of practice is that current rules require that patients be taken off the trial when the company or the researcher wants. That’s what happening to Thomas, a 12 year old boy. The treatment he received helped him feel better, but the doctor who did the research doesn’t want to continue due to the positive effects he received may be shown useless if the drug fails later on.  Drugmakers said that the trials are closed due to high cost and risks of being shut down by the FDA if the trial leads to bad effects on patients.  While this case involves a young boy, the same situation can apply to older persons involved in experiments as well.

Albany Still Makes Room for Lobbies (December 8, 2003)
Even when the New York State Legislature wanted to adopt financial saving measures, powerful lobbies, such as the drug lobby, can often defeat it. In fact, they give donations to politicians who defend the interest of the lobby instead of their constituents.  That’s what seems to have happened in Albany , (NY) recently. The Legislature wanted to impose price controls on prescription-drug reimbursement, but the measure called the “Preferred Drug List” (PDL) didn’t pass, due to the drug lobby pressure.  The PDL was designed to accept reimbursement only for drugs that were on the list. If adopted, the measure would have saved New York State taxpayers’ money but cut into the profits of drug companies with expensive products to sell.  

110-Year-Old Woman Looks Back on Long Life (December 8, 2003)
At 110, Bertha Fry still lives independently in an assisted living home in her native state of Indiana, and her mind is still as bright as her smile. When Fry was born on a farm in the late nineteenth century, life expectancy for a woman was only 51. Twice widowed, Fry still has plenty of family to keep her company, including five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.  

Making It Hard to Work ( December 7, 2003 )
Unlike many European countries, the United States does not provide incentives to older workers who wish to stay in the work force longer. No part-time pension options or late-retirement features exist for the many older workers who take part in “bridge employment,” which is transitional work between a full-time career and a full-time retirement.

Retirement community will be first designed specifically for gay seniors ( December 1, 2003 )
A developer in Santa Fe plans to open a retirement community for the GLBT – gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender – population by 2005. Rainbow Vision Properties would be one of a handful of retirement communities for older GLBT adults in the US, but it would be the first to offer assisted-living services. Surveys found that older gay and lesbian people seeking community expressed high interest in GLBT-specific retirement communities.

Cars now friendlier, safer for seniors (November 24, 2003)
Carmakers and researchers are racing to develop new features to accommodate America's aging baby boomers, helping them drive more safely as their sight or reflexes diminish. At Ford Motor Co., engineers don a body suit to simulate the arthritic condition of some seniors and wear cataract goggles to understand what it's like to have limited sight. "It really allows our engineers to understand what the older generation is dealing with,'' said Ford spokesman Miles Johnson. There are about 19 million licensed drivers age 65 and over today, a number expected to more than double by 2030.

Elder abuse high in area counties (November 24, 2003)
Elder abuse is “society’s secret” since no one talks about it but hides it behind closed doors. This issue concerns all communities and social-economic groups. Not all abuses are criminal or violent; some are unintentional because the caregiver does not have the knowledge or capacity to take care of an old person. 

American baby boomers grab land in Mexico (November 22, 2003)
For about 100 years, it was generally accepted that Americans moved to Mexico only if they were on the run, avoiding the draft, or addicted to drugs. That attitude is changing. As The New York Times reported last month, slowly but surely, hectare by hectare, parts of Mexico have become like US colonies, where English is the main language, and the dollar is the local currency. Huge tracts of land, especially along the Baja Peninsula south of San Diego, are now owned by Americans. Not directly, of course, since it remains ostensibly illegal for foreign citizens to buy land within 100 kilometers of the Mexican coast. Yet West Coast accents are everywhere.

Creating a more caring community for the elderly (November 20, 2003)
Price County, Wisconsin, created a county agency to work with the elderly due to increases in reported cases of elder abuse and neglect. State law requires counties to respond to reports of elder abuse but competent adults always have the right to decide where and how they want to live and what kind of help they need. 

Providing Care, When the Cure Is Out of Reach (November 18, 2003) 
Dr. Diane Meier, a geriatrician, directs a program at “the Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute.” She provides palliative care to patients who need it, whether they are close to death or not. Moreover, most of the people she helps do not benefit from Medicare. She is a great example of help and support for ill persons and their families. Dr. Meier tries to convince the medical community of the use of palliative care. In 5 years, the number of hospital who provide palliative care has jumped from 100 to 1,500. 

"Healthy aging" movement Grows as Age Boom Hits (November 17, 2003)
As the “baby boomer” generation ages, many boomers are throwing out old stereotypes that aging represents an inevitable “long, slow decline” towards death, and taking control of their health and well-being. The emerging “healthy aging” movement emphasizes exercise, nutrition, prevention through early screenings, and social interaction to allow people to live vigorously well into their later years.

Gadgets Help Baby Boomers Navigate Old Age (November 17, 2003)
“AgeLab” at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology and other research centers and companies around the country are developing “gadgets” designed to accommodate special age-related needs for the large, and wealthy, retiring baby-boomer generation. By 2030, people over 65 will represent 20% of the U.S. population, but will own 40% of the nation's disposable income and 77% of private investments, making a huge potential market for age-related products and services. 

Program and Administrative Issues Affecting Adult Protective Services (Resource)
AdultProtective Services (APS) programs respond to cases of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect and exploitation at the state and local level. However, lack of national guidelines and funding prevent APS programs from efficiently helping vulnerable older adults. States tend to lump services for different kinds of vulnerable populations together under a single agency, often marginalizing APS programs. Research on elder abuse has also tended to ignore the quality or efficacy of protective services, requiring renewed efforts to study and understand outcomes of APS programs.

Broadway Dressmaker Anna Harris, 103, Dies (November 11, 2003)
Anna Eastman Harris, former dressmaker for the stars, still made dresses for herself and others past her 100^th birthday. Harris led a full and dynamic life, which included organizing a group to help female prisoners by raising money and visiting them regularly. Friends say she still dressed impeccably, walked briskly, and lived independently most of the last two years of her life. 

The Best (November 10, 2003)
Lots of people have simple tastes. They're always prepared, as the saying goes, to put up with the best of everything. With that in mind, The Wall Street Journal has decided to close this year with a look at some of the best products, services and perks geared toward the second half of life. Here you will find the picks for the top places to find financial advice, nutrition guides, around-the-world cruises and more.

Grant to boost Fitness Center for Seniors (November 10, 2003)
Pat Dressman, director of northern Kentucky ’s Campbell County Human Services Department, came to a conclusion after her review of state services for seniors: “We aren’t keeping them healthy enough.” The County acted on her conclusion by building the area’s first wellness and fitness center for seniors with a block grant of $429,000 from Governor Paul Patton. The center provides free classes like tai chi and yoga, as well as specialized equipment for seniors.

Assisted Living to Viagra: A Dictionary Nod to Aging (November 9, 2003)
There have been many warnings to advertisers that their fascination with youthful consumers runs against the grain of demographics: America is graying and older people have much more money to spend than the young. Now, even the dictionary has weighed in, and - from "estrogen replacement therapy" to "statin" to "white-coat hypertension" - it offers little encouragement to those chasing the 18-to-49 age group. The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, published in July, has about 10,000 new entries or definitions. For the first time, the number of new entries related to health and medicine, almost 25 percent of the total, rival those related to technology. And 30 percent to 40 percent of the health and medicine entries are age-related.

Most cases of elderly abuse go unreported (November 9,2003)
Experts said that each year in Oregon 10,000 elderly persons are abused, but the real number is much bigger. According to Ms. Aileen Kaye, Oregon ’s protective services coordinator, Alzheimer’s victims are the primary targets. In fact, their mental disorder makes them more vulnerable. They don’t remember what has happened to them or they are reluctant to denounce anyone. Elder abuse includes financial, physical and mental harassment.  Sadly, friends or relatives can be abusers, which terribly affects the victim.
If you need further information about adult protection, you can have a look on the article “Program and Administrative Issues Affecting Adult Protective Services”:
http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/us/aps.htm

Illinois: Nursing homes adapt to a growing population of foreign-born patients (November 9, 2003)
Entering a nursing home can be a difficult transition under the best of circumstances, but doing so in a foreign land can be especially unsettling. Besides facing language barriers, patients often leave not only their homes and belongings behind, but their familiar customs as well. In the past five years, the number of Caucasians in nursing homes has decreased, while African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Indians are on the rise, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Now comes the realization that traditions and rituals can bring comfort and even help the healing process, bolstered by a study by the Illinois Council on Long Term Care that stresses the importance of accommodating ethnic practices and incorporating them into patient care whenever possible.

Love lights up couples' twilight years (November 6, 2003)
This is the era of Viagra and more open talk about sexual activity throughout one's adult life. The grown children of seniors may be shocked, but some of their parents who are living longer and healthier lives are also living lustier ones. "The sexual revolution of the baby boomers has percolated upward to the older generation," says Paul Takayanagi, a gerontologist formerly with San Francisco State University . Today's elders "are encouraged to express themselves romantically and sexually." Seniors are "freed up to think creatively."

Generation gap: moral beliefs of young, old differ greatly (November 4, 2003)
A sizeable generation gap exists on nearly every major moral issue in America today, a new poll by the Barna Research Group shows. The poll by Christian researcher George Barna shows that on issues such as pre-marital sex, living together before marriage and even pornography a double-digit gap exists between those ages 18-38 and those ages 39 and up. Smaller gaps existed on abortion and homosexual sex.  

Texas: Attorneys General oppose proposed Medicaid rule (October 31, 2003)
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott joined 45 other state attorneys general in opposing a federal Medicaid rebate rule that would allow prescription drug companies to destroy drug pricing information and reporting practices after three years. Destroying such records, according to Abbott, could interfere with ongoing state investigations and litigation related to allegations of fraudulent pricing in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

In retirement, many return to campus life ( October 29, 2003 )
Retirees are following a new trend: spending their retirement years on campus. The “back-to-campus” movement recognizes the need for older educated people not only to remain physically active, as in other traditional communities, but to have access to mental stimulation as well. Campus life offers classes like art, history and literature for people who just want to be there and learn. The trend is growing as baby boomers begin to retire and reinvent elderhood.

Retirement boom looming for N.Y. (October 30, 2003)
One in five state workers is likely to retire within the next four years, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi said Wednesday in a report critical of the Pataki administration's preparations to replace them. The Democratic comptroller said the Republican administration essentially leaves long-range personnel planning to each agency and lacks a coordinated, centralized approach to make sure that crucial state jobs will be filled by competent employees.

Securities Scams Often Target Elderly (October 30, 2003)
The pitches sounded so promising. In one case, sales agents in Colorado offered consumers the opportunity to "buy" a telephone booth for $7,000, which the company the agents worked for then would lease back with a pledge of a 14 percent annual return on the investment. Then there were would-be entrepreneurs seeking "seed money" to patent promising new products, dig an oil well or raise rabbits for fur. All drew investments from scores of Americans, mostly seniors, and all were bogus. The investors lost thousands of dollars, according to federal and state securities regulators. "The saddest part of this is that almost all of our cases involve the elderly, people 60 and older," said Fred J. Joseph, Colorado 's securities commissioner. "Unfortunately we find most of the time that the money is gone."

Federal officials oppose Louisiana elderly care program (October 28, 2003)
Louisiana 's proposed creation of a new program for in-home care for Medicaid patients who hope to avoid nursing homes is running into resistance from federal health care officials, who say the program is too limited. Under federal law, Medicaid services must be offered to all who qualify. Federal officials said the new "personal care attendant" program didn't meet its test to ensure the state isn't discriminating by offering services to just one segment of the Medicaid population.

"Retirement." A dirty word for many older workers (October 26, 2003)
Years ago, people reaching age 65 typically received a gold watch from employers and then golfed their way into retirement. Not anymore. A number of older workers are heading into their golden years determined to find meaningful part-time work after leaving the corporate or professional world. ''Retirement'' has become a dirty word for some members of this group, which includes the oldest of the nation's baby boom generation born between 1946 and 1964. ''Retirement no longer connotes going away and hiding under a rock,'' said Cecile J. Klavens, a Brookline consultant on career strategies.

HMO costs for elderly keep rising (October 24, 2003)
For seniors, there are no longer easy choices when it comes to health care. HMOs once offered a cost-effective way to boost the minimal benefits of traditional Medicare. But they've become less and less of a good deal over the past few years. As medical expenses have ballooned, so too have the costs of these plans for the elderly. That trend will continue in 2004. Hospital co-payments for the HMO plans -- known as Medicare+Choice -- will increase for many seniors.

How seniors can defend against abuse (October 23, 2003)
A growing number of seniors are victims of abuse, often by family members. Abuse against seniors can take many forms, including financial exploitation, neglect and mental abuse. Augusta Clarke, assistant state attorney for Illinois ’s DuPage County special victims unit, has seen an increase in cases of financial exploitation by adult children. Clarke says, “We are seeing more of the white collar people who have a sense that they are entitled to their inheritance - and they want it now.”

Cheap Drugs From Canada: Another Political Hot Potato (October 23, 2003) 
For years, just about the only Americans regularly buying drugs in Canada were thrifty gray-haired New Englanders. Now, with state budgets squeezed, it is the nation's governors who are demanding access to Canada 's cheap drugs. Should a bill legalizing drug imports pass Congress and be signed by President Bush, the drug industry still could defend its profits. Already, some drug makers are limiting sales to Canadian pharmacies so they can only get enough drugs to fill prescriptions written in Canada .

Millions of Americans Look Outside U.S. for Drugs (October 23, 2003)

Mexico, Canada and other countries have become the discount pharmacies for many Americans, those looking simply to save money as well as the uninsured struggling to pay for their medications. In the process, the nation's drug distribution chain is being breached, exposing consumers to risk and swamping regulators, according to state and federal records and interviews with dozens of federal agency officials, state investigators, academics and security specialists for the pharmaceutical industry. Customs estimates 10 million U.S. citizens bring in medications at land borders each year. An additional 2 million packages of pharmaceuticals arrive annually by international mail from Thailand, India, South Africa and other points. 

74-year-old to take on New York marathon (October 22, 2003)
An Australian senior, 74-year-old Norma Wallett, will run the New York Marathon in November. Thanks to her strong will and hard training, Norma will be able to run one of the world’s toughest marathons. The fun and the challenge keep her going. She says, “I just want to be able to push myself to do something that's hard and see if I can do it.”

Finding the Right Handset For Older Cellphone Users (October 22, 2003)
Cellphones can be a handy asset for older users, but as the devices get smaller and more complex, finding the right phone can be a hassle. Many senior citizens say they'd feel safer and more secure having a cellphone, yet people over 65 years old are largely ignored by youth-focused wireless carriers. Otherwise, we'd be seeing more effort to produce simpler phones with easier-to-read keypads and louder rings. Currently, seniors make up about 15% of overall cellphone users, according to the Yankee Group study. The study also offered up reasons why the numbers aren't higher. Older people are often too "set in their ways to learn how to use handsets," the study found. And the loss of manual dexterity, hearing and eyesight also make it difficult for seniors to learn how to use mobile devices.

Boomers Hire Pros to Make Hollywood-Style Biopics; Dubbing in a Daughter-in-law (October 22, 2003)

First there was the big-budget Hollywood movie. Now comes the big-budget home movie. As their parents hit old age, baby boomers are scrambling against time to make a permanent record of the family lore. But instead of picking up a video camera and firing off a list of questions, some boomers are hiring production companies to turn these tales into glossy documentaries. Now, when mom reminisces about her high-school sweetheart, her story may be set to carefully selected theme music. And when dad recounts his first job out of college, it may be done with the help of a voiceover. Some families are hiring genealogists to do background research or paying for historical footage, such as shots of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island . These stylized home movies can run as long as an hour and cost $20,000.

Senators are told of abuse of elders (October 21, 2003)
In a recent hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, victims, advocates, and prosecutors described horrific abuse of elderly people, often at the hands of family members. The hearing was one of a series organized by Democratic Senator John Breaux of Louisiana to raise the profile of physically abused elderly people and to pass a bill devoted to protecting older people from abuse and neglect. Elder protection agencies say they are seeing more and more cases of elder abuse, but often lack the money and resources to cope with the problem.

Drug Industry Enlists An Ex-Cop Lobbyist (October 22, 2003)
The pharmaceutical industry's newest political weapon isn't another well-heeled lobbyist but a New York gumshoe paid as much as $2,500 a day to warn Congress against easing restrictions on importing drugs. Richard "Bo" Dietl, a tough-talking former New York City police detective, has been spending two or three days a week here, briefing lawmakers and aides on an investigation he conducted into Internet prescription-drug sales. In 1986, Mr. Dietl ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House. Mr. Dietl, who peppers his speech with profanity, is a frequent media commentator on high-profile crimes, and a frequent guest of radio jock Don Imus.

Chains lobby on drug benefit (October 21, 2003)
The nation's drugstores and supermarkets are engaged in a furious lobbying campaign to limit the influence of rivals likely to play a prominent role in a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. The big chains say the growing mail-order services owned by pharmacy benefit managers pose a threat to retailers. They fear being shut out of the market if the managers administer the benefit under Medicare and also sell drugs by mail order.  

Maryland: Looking at the world through older eyes (October 20, 2003)
The museum on Key Highway was selected by the National Institutes of Health as the site for a program on art and aging, which pairs senior city residents with medical students. The program, "Vital Visionaries Collaboration," will cost $45,000, institute officials said. Each medical student volunteer will be teamed with an elderly person in a series of meetings at the museum. The current exhibition, Golden Blessings of Old Age, which features work by acclaimed artists who peaked late in life, will be the program's focal point.  

Elderly Immigrants Embrace Nursing Homes (October 20, 2003)
First- and second-generation immigrants to the US increasingly find that they cannot rely on traditional family support in old-age, as younger two-career families find little time or energy to care for older relatives. Assisted-living facilities targeted at specific ethnic and cultural groups are springing up across the country to fill the needs of older immigrants, but not all older immigrants can afford to take advantage of them.  

Protect People You Love (October 19, 2003)
Don't be fooled by anyone who tells you that the estate tax is dead or that only rich people pay it. For one thing, you may be richer than you think. People often overlook big assets such as homes and life-insurance policies when considering their net worth. As a result, they wrongly imagine that their net worth falls below this year's $1 million-a-person estate-tax threshold. Moreover, the steadily dwindling estate tax under the new tax law will actually disappear completely for just one year, and then spring back to life in 2011 unless Congress decides otherwise. Finally, a big part of what lawyers call estate planning has nothing to do with taxes. Rather, you do it to secure your assets and to protect your kids and other heirs. Here's what you need to know to protect the people you love.  

House and Senate conferees consider making high-income elders pay more ( October 17, 2003 )
House and Senate negotiators, working long to come up with a compromise bill to overhaul Medicare and add a prescription-drug benefit, face a vexing issue: keeping the tab down in a time of huge budget deficits. Congressional budget planners had designated $400 billion over the next 10 years for prescription-drug benefits. But then last summer, the Congressional Budget Office reckoned the version passed by the Senate would actually cost $432 billion, and the House version $425 billion. The excess cost is particularly a problem in the Senate, which has somewhat tougher budget rules. At the same time, the cumulative federal deficit could reach $5.1 trillion over the next 10 years, estimates to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  

Vets Could Collect More Benefits ( October 17, 2003 )

Under pressure from veterans groups, the GOP leadership announced yesterday that it will allow more veterans to collect both full retirement and disability benefits, something they have been blocked from doing in the past. Half a million veterans are affected by current law, under which retirees give up a dollar in retirement benefits for every dollar they get in disability compensation. Under the proposal, which would be phased in over 10 years, people whose disabilities are rated 50 percent or higher would be covered. The proposal would cost $22 billion, and GOP leaders plan to attach it to the defense authorization bill. About 250,000 veterans would benefit from the change.

 
Oregon: Summit considers aid for abused elders (October 16, 2003)
The first Elder Abuse Summit was held at King City Community Center (OR) in order to address physical or financial abuse of older people. A decade ago, few laws existed to protect the elderly from relatives and caregivers’ abuse. Now, even though the situation has improved, legislators must take further action, including better training for caregivers and harsher sentences for abusers.

Aging couples often face conflicting visions of 'golden years' (October 13, 2003)
Retirement can take many different forms, but the challenges of adjusting to a loss of identity from one’s work and finding something else rewarding to do with one’s time are often similar for many people. Couples do not always share the same goals and interests for retirement, making it necessary to plan and communicate well in advance. Working out financial and emotional aspects in advance can make for a rewarding and fulfilling retirement.

Alabama: Pension bonus battle expected (October 15, 2003)
Gov. Bob Riley's proposal to end a pension bonus program for veteran teachers and state employees will spark a heated legislative battle, a legislator and the head of the state employees union predicted Tuesday, October 14. "I think it would be one hell of a fight," said Mac McArthur, executive director of the Alabama State Employees Association.

Elderly Residents Have Rights (October 15, 2003)
More than 1.5 million elderly Americans live in the 16,000 nursing homes across this country. Despite the fact that by law, these nursing homes must take steps to attain or maintain the "highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident," too many of the folks who live there are victims of neglect or abuse by these facilities and their employees. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, or you live in a nursing home you may want to listen up. Living in a nursing home may be life altering, but it isn't a death sentence. The good news is there are laws that guarantee every resident, like Virginia LaRocca, has choices, "As far as resident rights, I think everyone should have them...not just were are here and we're childish. We're not children, we're adults. It's just that we can't take care of each other."

Tennesy: TennCare to give elderly an alternative to nursing homes (October 14, 2003)
A pilot program to give an alternative to elderly Tennesseans who are too frail to live alone but don't need the intensive care of a nursing home will be tested in Middle Tennessee, TennCare officials said on Monday, October 13. The pilot program would be the first major step toward funding home- and community-based care in Tennessee by giving the elderly and people with disabilities who are on TennCare an alternative to nursing homes.

House and Senate Weigh Co-Payment for Care at Home ( October 14, 2003 )
The House and Senate are negotiating a new bill that would require patients receiving home health care to pay a co-payment of $40-$45 for each sixty days of home care. Congress had eliminated the co-payment in 1972 in order to encourage patients to receive home care instead of more expensive hospital care, but Republican supporters of the bill claim they want to prevent “abuse” of the home health care system. Home care advocates attack the bill as a “sick tax,” and say the co-payments will put an additional burden on the poorest patients with the worst health status.

Study finds few substance abuse treatment programs for elders (October 13, 2003)
Fewer than one in five existing substance abuse programs in the United States offers services specifically designed for older adults, according to a University of Iowa investigation. The study, which appeared in the September issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, suggests substance abuse in the older population is a particularly serious health concern. All known public and private facilities listed as providing substance abuse services were surveyed. Of the 13,749 eligible programs, only 17.7 percent (2,374) reported specialized substance abuse treatment provisions for elders.

Bills would restore benefits to Filipino vets (October 13, 2003)
Benjamin Lebeng said he thought he would get U.S. veterans benefits after risking his life to support American guerrilla units in the Philippines during World War II and guarding U.S. military bases on Luzon as a New Philippine Scout. "Filipino veterans were fighting side by side with Americans during World War II," said Lebeng, 75. "We Filipino Americans were singled out. I don't know why." To restore some of the benefits, Congress last week passed House Resolution 2297. The bill, which goes to the U.S. Senate, would enable New Philippine Scouts serving from October 1945 until December 1946 and living in the United States to be eligible for burial in national veterans cemeteries. The bill also increases the benefits paid to Filipino veterans and their survivors living in the United States to the same rate paid to U.S. veterans, including veterans who died as a result of World War II-related injuries.

Wisconsin: AG targets physical, financial elder abuse (October 13, 2003)
Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager today unveiled a comprehensive effort by the state Justice Department to defend Wisconsin's senior citizens against physical and financial abuse. Lautenschlager said she will assign one assistant attorney general to focus full time on "elder abuse in a general sense, particularly involving financial crimes against the elderly." That work will include prosecuting consumer fraud, identity theft, forgery and fraud committed by financial institutions and family members who have powers of attorney, in addition to the agency's ongoing prosecution of physical abuse of the elderly and health care fraud.  

Boomer generation expected to redefine notion of retirement (October 12, 2003)
Until recently, most workers nationwide retired in their late 50s or early 60s. A 1999 report, funded by the National Institute on Aging, showed that only 21 percent of men and 11 percent of women were still working full time at age 65. But, like John Glenn rocketing back into space at age 77, many retirees are rethinking their relaxation years and using them to explore new careers, embark on adventures or try a hand at something entirely different. Such anti-retirement attitudes are expected to increase as the nation’s 77 million baby boomers enter the second act of their lives. This trend-setting, massive group of Americans possesses a different mind-set about work than that of their parents. Instead of disconnecting from the workplace, boomers are expected to stay closely entwined, in part because they enjoy better health than their parents and have always been defined by a sense of youthfulness.

Aging with ease: There are ways to help elderly parents with their finances (October 6, 2003)
People today live longer than ever, and managing a budget to cover health care costs into old age is becoming increasingly difficult. While adult children often feel uncomfortable asking their older parents about financial matters, senior citizens advocates say discussing with parents how they will deal with health and other expenses will avoid future problems. Without family support, senior citizens are more vulnerable to financial traps and fraud, such as mortgage loans with high and unnecessary fees.  

Rhode Island: Elderly immigrants get state aid for nursing home care (October 10, 2003 )  
Elderly immigrants who are not eligible for Medicaid can now get state help to cover the cost of nursing home care under a program announced Thursday by Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty and two legislators.  

Iowa: Elderly weary of Medicare vows. A key voting bloc demands details (October 9, 2003)
As Senator John F. Kerry was pressing his ongoing attack on Democratic rival Howard Dean over Medicare, 87-year-old Lula Kirk took out a pen and started doing a little math on her paper place mat in a senior citizen center's lunchroom. Here were her calculations: $317 plus $255 in Social Security checks equals $572 to support herself per month, or $6,864 a year. Then she began subtracting: $79 per month to repay a bank loan, $146 for rent, $28 for phone service, $15 for J.C. Penney ("I owe them a lot"), $33 for medicines, $100 for food, and $33 for her monthly hairdo. "Leaves me $138 to live on, and that's if my heart troubles or diabetes don't act up," Kirk said after Kerry's speech Tuesday in this small city in northwestern Iowa .  

Once just a trickle, Canada's Rx drugs pouring into USA  Seniors seek bargains; FDA cracks down (October 7, 2003)
It began as a novelty: grannies riding buses to Canada in search of cheaper medicines. But today, that search has mushroomed into a cross-border war that pits desperate consumers and defiant state and local governments against the powerful pharmaceutical industry and the Bush administration. From just a few million dollars a year in 2000, the importation of price-controlled drugs from Canada has grown to a projected $800 million this year and shows no signs of letting up. ''I've never in my wildest dreams imagined an industry like this,'' says Andy Troszok, a pharmacist in Calgary , Alberta , and vice president of an exporters' trade group. The Bush administration, echoing the arguments of drugmakers, is fighting the medicine trade from Canada and elsewhere as illegal and unsafe.  

Oldest American dies age 114 (October 6, 2003)
A woman described as the oldest living American and the third oldest person in the world has died at the age of 114. Elena Slough passed away in the state of New Jersey just three days after her 90-year-old daughter died at the same nursing home where they both lived. Mrs. Slough, who is believed to have been born in 1888, lived through seven US wars, 21 presidents, and 12 US territories gaining statehoods.  

Elderly reach for digital age ( October 4, 2003 )
Wireless networks, fast Internet connections and smart kitchen appliances are the rage in high-tech homes for the hip, young and well-to-do. Slowly, the elderly are adapting to digital lifestyle technologies, allowing them to stay longer in their homes, relieve burdens of caregivers, and, ultimately, reduce health care costs.

Elderly health care a serious state issue (October 2, 2003)
Louisiana hopes to soon offer more alternatives to nursing home care for its elderly residents, David Hood, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, told a group of concerned senior citizens at a luncheon Sept. 25. Hood was the keynote speaker at the Citizens of Seniority Speak Out event sponsored by the Jefferson Concerned Citizens Inc. at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church 's Brown Tutt Memorial Building in Westwego. In a recent study by the University of California , Hood said, Louisiana ranked 49th of the 50 states in the move toward community-based treatment programs for the elderly. There are 26,000 nursing homes and 500 community-based services in the state, he said.  

Point of View: What is the American model really about? ( October 1, 2003 )
The American model fascinates Europeans. To many on the right, the American version of the free market—as they imagine it—represents an ideal type. It is the highest form of capitalism. It is to be celebrated for its efficiency and technological dynamism, and even its capacity to deliver full employment—all free from the dead hand of governmental regulation and control.

Census study: whites less likely than blacks to live with extended family ( October 1, 2003 )
A hundred years of census data indicates whites are now less likely than blacks to live in extended-family households, a reversal from the earlier half of the century, according to a study published in the August Demography.

University of California Announces Major Aging Initiative (September 30, 2003)
To help meet the needs of California 's aging population, the University of California has pulled together $12 million in state and private funds to fully fund six new endowed chairs in geriatric medicine - a subspecialty dedicated to providing medical care for elderly patients.  

Switched roles ( September 30, 2003 )
The average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home in Dallas is $146.69, according to a MetLife study conducted this year. Nationally, the average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home was up 8 percent over 2002. Family caregiving for people 50 and older is widespread in the United States and is increasing, according to the 1999 study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, the earliest available. "Over the next 10 years, the total number of employed caregivers in the United States is expected to increase to between 11 (million) and 15.6 million working Americans — roughly one in 10 employed workers," according to the MetLife study.

Teamsters local ready to strike (September 30, 2003)

Teamsters are preparing to halt grocery deliveries to restaurants and schools throughout the area at midnight tonight unless they reach an agreement on pension benefits with a supplier. Members of Teamsters Local 435 voted to strike unless Maryland-based US Foodservice increases pension benefits, said Local 435 chief executive Steve Vairma. The company provides groceries and related products to Denver and Aurora public schools as well as numerous restaurants, including Dairy Queen, Chili's and others owned by national chains. "The pension plan doesn't offer a livable benefit," Vairma said. In a written statement provided by the company, US Foodservice said it will continue to deliver groceries whether or not there is a strike.  

Poverty Increases and Median Income Declines for the Second Consecutive Year ( September 29, 2003 )
Census data released today ( September 29, 2003 ) show that poverty increased and median household income fell in 2002 for the second consecutive year.  The number of poor people increased by 1.7 million to 34.6 million; the poverty rate rose from 11.7 percent to 12.1 percent; and median household income fell by $500, or 1.1 percent, to $42,409.  There were 3 million more poor people in 2002 than in 2000, the last year before unemployment began to rise. In addition, those who were poor became poorer on average.  The poverty rate — the percentage of people with incomes below the poverty line — was lower in 2002 than in most other years of the 1980s and 1990s, although higher than in most years of the 1970s.  But the basic measure of the depth, or severity, of poverty — the average amount by which the incomes of those who are poor fall below the poverty line — was greater in 2002 than in any other year on record, with these data going back to 1979.

Ohio: Stuck in a nursing home ( September 29, 2003 )  

Ohio is spending $2.6 billion per year on long-term care for the elderly. Advocates say it's a system badly in need of an evolution, especially as baby boomers get older. State officials remain at war with the nursing-home industry, a powerful statehouse force fighting to keep its foothold in a rapidly changing system. The Advocate continues a multi-day series looking at the situation. The series is addressing many pressing issues:  Why does Ohio have more than 11,400 empty nursing home beds?   Why are some low-income seniors forced into nursing homes instead of assisted living?  Why does Ohio spend 85 percent of its money on the option seniors least want to use? Why does the Legislature give nursing homes preferential treatment? Why the Passport program is really not fixed?

House Committee Backs Tax Help for Employees and Retirees ( September 26, 2003 )
The House Government Reform Committee on September 25 approved bills that would provide federal retirees with a tax break on their health insurance premiums and would allow more government employees to sign up for tax-free transit subsidies. The committee, chaired by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III(R-Va.), approved the bills on voice votes. Davis, who sponsored the retiree bill, said the measure "provides a means of relief from rising health care premiums." Supporters estimated that it would save the typical retiree $400 annually.

Your retirement plan could personalize the fund scandal (September 25, 2003)
Most investors have been watching the current mutual fund scandal, but they haven't felt touched by it. That's almost certainly about to change for people whose retirement plans own funds from firms ensnared by regulators. The fund industry is in the middle of what may be its most challenging dilemma in 80 years.

 Hobby Heaven. For some seniors, hobbies are not mere distractions, they're full-blown obsessions ( September 24, 2003 )
Sure, hobbies and retirement go hand in hand, as quilting grandmas and golfing grandpas will attest. For some, however, hobbies go from a mere distraction to a full-blown obsession, invigorating enthusiasts from train lovers to map collectors. Indeed, some experts believe there's a significant health benefit to be gained by immersion in a passion. "What gets a person out of [depression] is when you're engaged in a stimulating endeavor," says Bernard Landis, 77, a psychologist-psychoanalyst. Six years ago, he cut back his practice and enrolled in art school, and this May he graduated with a B.F.A. in painting and drawing. "You meet people, you open up new doors, and it just changes the chemistry. I'm sure it even affects the immune system. It's such a breath of fresh air."  

Senate Wins Support on a Medicare Issue (September 24, 2003)
The Bush administration has quietly told Congress that it should not provide Medicare drug benefits to six million poor elderly and disabled people because they are already eligible for similar help through state Medicaid programs. Administration officials said they were siding with the Senate, against the House and all 50 governors, on one of the most divisive issues in the Medicare legislation. A major issue of principle and large amounts of money are at stake. The principle, rooted in the history of Medicare, is that all benefits are generally available to all beneficiaries, regardless of their income.

Big Pension Fund Seeks Accounting Reform (September 24, 2003)
The nation's largest pension fund yesterday urged regulators to go one step further to clean up the accounting industry by banning accountants from providing tax advice to publicly traded clients whose financial statements they audit. Sean Harrigan, president of the California Public Employees' Retirement System board, said auditors continue to get about half their revenue from consulting work, mostly from tax services sold to their clients. "This is a deeply troubling situation that we feel has the significant potential to impair the objectivity of the independent auditor," Harrigan told the Senate Banking Committee.

Montana: State retirement plan facing financial troubles (September 23, 2003)
The program that provides pensions to thousands of retired public employees is in financial trouble and will need to be bailed out by state and local governments, a new report says. The Legislative Fiscal Division report concludes that an increase of at least 29 percent in employer contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System may be needed to make its trust fund financially sound again. Greg DeWitt, author of the report, said no decision will be made on the size of any increase until a financial analysis is completed a year from now. However, he said, the Legislature should be aware of the potential increase in state costs.

Workers Planning to Retire Later (September 23, 2003)
The image of American retirees lounging by the pool or playing golf may disappear as nearly three-quarters of older workers say they plan to work past the normal retirement age, according to a study to be released today. A survey by AARP, formerly known as the American Assn. of Retired Persons, shows that 7 in 10 Americans plan to work past the once-typical retirement age of 65 and nearly half expect to work well into their 70s and even 80s.

California Cultures Pension power (September 22, 2003)
It defies belief that after all the corporate scandals of recent years the head of the New York Stock Exchange still had the chutzpah to run off with an obscenely large "compensation" package. Even after being exposed -- by the press, not by the so-called "regulators" -- Dick Grasso thought he could tough it out. The turning point came when California's Treasurer Phil Angelides and Sean Harrigan, the director of the state's public employee pension fund, and Jack Ehnes, the director of the teacher's retirement fund, called for his head -- and got it.

Michigan low-income seniors shut out of produce program (September 22, 2003)
While a cornucopia of fresh produce awaits shoppers at such markets, Michigan's low-income seniors are not participating in a successful federal program to help the poor buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Project Fresh, tested in Michigan in 2001, offers $20 vouchers to buy locally grown fresh produce. Michigan didn't apply to participate in the program in 2002 or 2003. Especially in a tight economy, operators and vendors at farmers' markets say they would welcome a program that attracts new business.

Sudbury seniors set to storm State House (September 21, 2003)
Concerned residents are likely to flood the State House Tuesday for a hearing on a home rule petition to establish a senior tax exemption in town. Sudbury's annual Town Meeting in April approved a measure, known as Article 54, which would allow people older than 60 an exemption of either 50 percent of their real estate tax bill or 50 percent of the taxes that would be due for the average valued house in town, whichever is less. For the exemption to be enacted in Sudbury, the state Legislature must approve it. 

Nest Egg: All ages have a stake in pension plans (September 21, 2003)
The traditional defined-pension benefit system that has helped provide comfortable lives for millions of post-war retirees may not survive the controversies besetting the system. The headline focus of late is the conflict over traditional pensions versus cash balance plans. Traditional plans favor older employees because they reward longevity and rising earning power. Cash-balance advocates say they're more equitable for younger workers, because annual employer contributions accrue evenly and earn guaranteed interest returns. Opponents claim cash balance pensions would short-change today's older workers by cutting their benefit substantially on the verge of retirement. Attempts to change the rules of the game result from corporate greed, they say, because switching to cash-balance plans enhances profits by saving on pension funding.

California: Elderly Man Loses Bid To Fight Landlord's Eviction Order (September 19, 2003)
Los Angeles - An 88-year-old World War II veteran with emphysema lost a legal bid Friday and now must vacate the Venice apartment where he has lived the past 47 years. Albert Dunne wanted a Los Angeles judge to void a City Council decision that gave his landlord a hardship exemption to moratoriums against evicting elderly or disabled rent-control tenants.

League of Women Voters: A prescription for universal, affordable health care (September 17, 2003)
There is a general agreement in our country that health care services should be universal and affordable, but no unanimous agreement has yet been found regarding the details of what should be provided and how. In the search for that agreement proposals are coming from many sources - Congress, the state legislatures, candidates for office and interested organizations and individuals. Amid the volumes of information and ideas the League of Women Voters has established some criteria by which to judge the various proposals.The main goal as stated by the national League of Women Voters is a basic level of quality health care at an affordable cost for all U.S. residents. Mental health coverage, long-term care for the aged, and the provision of health education and disease prevention information all should be provided without consideration of a person's ability to pay.

Oregon: Voters OK measure letting state sell bonds to pay pension debt (September 17, 2003) 

Oregon got permission from voters in Tuesday's special election to sell bonds to refinance part of the public pension debt, a move the state treasurer says will save the state about $1 billion. With 79 percent of the vote counted, Measure 29 had 55 percent of the vote to 45 percent opposed. The proposal had a wide lead in the most populous urban counties and was trailing narrowly in many rural counties. The measure, put on the special election ballot by the Legislature, authorizes the state to sell $2 billion in bonds.

Federal Workers' Insurance Premiums to Rise Less Than Others' (September 16, 2003) 

Health insurance premiums for federal workers and retirees will rise next year by an average of 10.6 percent, which is much less than the increases planned by many private employers, the Bush administration said today. Administration officials said the new rates suggested that the federal employee program was a model for the private sector and for Medicare, the insurance program for people who are elderly or disabled. The program for federal employees offers a wide variety of insurance options through scores of competing private health plans.

Besides Prescription Drugs (September 15, 2003)
Members of Congress are pretending that the Medicare bill, currently bogged down in conference negotiations, is simply about prescription drugs. Not quite. Both House and Senate versions of the bill contain provisions designed to help particular companies and congressional districts, benefiting everyone from Weight Watchers International to marriage therapists to doctors in Alaska. The legislation also contains measures to shore up rural health care, adjust doctors' pay and patch up bits of the Medicare system that don't work. And it has new rules allowing the re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada and elsewhere. Some of these measures are justified, some not.

Longer lifespans may not mean higher health costs (September 11, 2003)
More "golden years" do not cost the health care system more, federal researchers say - whether people are healthy at age 70 and live independently for many more years or are sickly and die sooner, their medical costs are about the same. The findings have big implications for taxpayers, because they suggest that the outlook for the Medicare program as America's baby boomers grow old is not as dire as some policy-makers feared.

Candidates Guarded On Senior Tax Break Va. Hopefuls Pledge Protection for Now (September 11, 2003)
Northern Virginia legislative candidates promised elderly voters yesterday that they would protect the state income tax deduction for senior citizens who now receive it, but some warned that budget pressures may force them to make wealthy retirees ineligible for the tax break in the future.

Texas: State warns cities of pension-fund shortfalls (September 11, 2003)
The retirement funds relied upon by thousands of North Texas public employees are short more than $1 billion needed to pay promised benefits, according to a Star-Telegram review of nine local pension plans. Several of the plans, which collectively have more than $3.5 billion in assets, have gaps that can be closed through stock market improvements, managers say. But three funds -- including plans for thousands of public employees of Fort Worth and Dallas -- are on the state's watch list because they may never be able to meet obligations at current funding levels. The state has mailed warning letters to the three urging them to address shortfalls.

Panel Backs Senior Drug Card (September 10, 2003)
A divided House-Senate committee approves the discount program, but raises new doubts on prescription benefits. A sharply divided House-Senate conference committee tentatively agreed Tuesday to offer seniors a Medicare-endorsed drug discount card but raised new doubts about prospects for a comprehensive Medicare prescription drug benefit. The card, which would become available no later than six months after enactment of a Medicare overhaul bill, is designed to give beneficiaries some relief from medication expenses until a Medicare drug benefit could take effect. That would be no sooner than Jan. 1, 2006. But some Democrats suggested that a final bill would not pass the Senate if it contained certain House-passed provisions — or if Republicans, who hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, squeezed Democrats out of negotiations.

Chief exec `willing to go to prison' Rx Depot's Moore defying U.S. order (September 10, 2003)
Speaking from his Rx Depot storefront in Aventura, Carl Moore, chief executive of the 85-store chain, said on Tuesday that he would defy a demand from the Department of Justice to stop helping seniors in the United States get drugs at discounted prices from Canada. ''They're trying to scare the living hell out of people,'' Moore said. ``We're going to the mat. That's what you have to do when you want to stand up for social change . . .. We're going to fight forever for the rights of citizens to access affordable medicines from Canada. `` . . . I'm willing to go to prison for what I do.''

Some Feel Pinch, Others a Squeeze (September 9, 2003)
While some elderly New Yorkers have ample resources and safeguards, among them a company pension and tax exemptions, to weather the city's financial jam, Letizia Matriciano is struggling. In these tight times, the elderly, with their fixed incomes, are among New York's most vulnerable residents. The city's attempts to balance the budget with new taxes, along with steep increases in regulated rents, transit fares and utility bills, present a scary prospect for the elderly, and for the groups that serve them.  

Righting wrongs. Denied opportunity, Negro Leaguers seek pension, respect (September 8, 2003)
The article examines the issues of retirement and pensions among the former basketball players based on a real life story. Many of the Negro Leaguers who nurtured the game in the African-American community during decades of baseball apartheid haven't received a dime. They're all senior citizens now, and many are in failing health, struggling to pay for medical care.

Older Workers Are Thriving Despite Recent Hard Times (September 08, 2003)
Without fanfare, older workers — the ones seemingly left behind by the dot.com boom — are turning out to be the only group thriving in the jobless recovery. Even as younger workers have lost ground, a higher percentage of those aged 55 to 64 hold jobs today than when the economy plunged into hard times in early 2001. Their success has shifted the composition of the work force: older people now make up 12 percent of the nation's workers, up from 10.2 percent in 2000. That was the year the dot-com boom, so favorable to the young, began to collapse. 

Today's breed of retirees are younger, wealthier and moving here (September 8, 2003)
According to a recent Census Bureau report, an estimated 16,000 senior citizens moved to South Carolina to retire for pretty much the same reasons: its white-sand beaches, its relatively inexpensive real estate, its restaurants, cultural opportunities and outdoor activities. States like Nevada, Arizona and Florida still rank ahead of the Palmetto State in terms of popularity among retirees, but South Carolina is catching up, attracting a wave of retirees who are helping to fuel the state economy.

Smaller living space appeals to many as they age (September 8, 2003)
Downsizing is not limited to company layoffs and terminations. It is something many senior citizens face when their living space becomes too large to manage or the price of independent living -- regular lawn care, snow removal, window washing -- becomes too costly. 

DCF failing to protect state’s seniors, investigation finds (September 07, 2003)
TALLAHASSEE — As Florida markets itself as a retirement paradise, there’s evidence the state does a poor job of protecting seniors from abuse and neglect. A seven-month investigation by Gannett News Service reveals a splintered system in which hundreds of elders in need are falling through the state’s safety net , and some die, in undocumented silence.

Industry Fights to Put Imprint on Drug Bill (September 5, 2003)
The United States, the last industrialized country with unregulated drug prices, provides half of the industry's revenues, up from less than a third a decade ago, and most of its profits. And the elderly are its best customers. Some companies estimate that up to half of their sales in the United States come from drugs bought by the elderly. The article highlights the links between the drug industry, Medicare and legislators.

Priority in life should be to lift the burden of others (September 05, 2003)
In our country, funds are in short supply for programs not associated with military defense or pre-emptive wars and their aftermath. Consequently, programs such as research into the causes and cures of diseases must depend on fund-raisers and memorial gifts. Recently, a U.S. senator reminded his colleagues that the federal budget deficit is at an all-time high. Were it not for the government's borrowing of surplus Social Security and Medicare trust-fund dollars, the deficit would be much larger. The author is of the article is disturbed that instead of championing an interdependent and global community in which the highest honor is to lighten each other's burdens, many leaders backed by avid followers wreak destruction and death.

Budget cuts reduce services for region's senior citizens (September 4, 2003)
Senior citizens will lose two hot meals a week at community centers. Some will not be able to get rides to senior centers to socialize. And others may lose exercise classes, health news, and housekeeping services that helped them stay in their homes instead of moving into nursing facilities. Those are just a few examples in nearly $400,000 in cuts that Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia announced this week. The agency for aging sent letters to 24 community groups that get money or services from it to let them know of cuts that will take effect Oct. 1. Leaders of many of those groups say they will try to find other sources of funding, but expect some loss in services.

An Age-Old Debate (September 4, 2003)  
The article is dedicated to the issues of senior citizens highlighted by the politicians and media during an election year. The author reflects his own worries and concerns regarding the issues of age discrimination.

State must stick to settlement promising in-home care for the elderly (September 4, 2003)  
The state cannot modify a settlement agreement that guarantees in-home personal care services to elderly residents who otherwise would be forced to live in nursing homes, a federal judge ruled. The program to provide so-called "personal care attendants" to the elderly is required by a federal legal settlement, but it targets some of the same Medicaid dollars on which the nursing homes depend. The suit, filed by the New-Orleans based Advocacy Center in 2000, alleges lack of home- and community- based care options for Louisiana's elderly and disabled.

Needed: aging-driver policy (September 3, 2003)   
For an elderly couple I know who live in rural Florida, driving represents far more than everyday independence and freedom. It means survival. With no one else to get their food and medicine, and no public transportation, he drives while she tells him where to go. Both are approaching 80, the wife paralyzed from a stroke, the husband legally blind. Since an 86-year-old motorist plowed into a farmers' market in Santa Monica, Calif., in July - killing 10 and injuring dozens - some commentators have suggested older drivers are an irresponsible menace with no business on public roadways. Given the growth in the senior population, the national debate on how - or whether - to regulate driving privileges for the elderly is really only just beginning.

Lawmakers Returning, Retirees Renew Fights Over Insurance Benefits   (September 2, 2003)   
Federal retirees are looking to build on the momentum they have gained over the course of this year when Congress returns to its legislative work this week. Most of the retiree issues have been long in the making, but one -- tied to a proposed Medicare drug prescription benefit -- is new and, perhaps, more urgent. The priority issue in the long-running category is "premium conversion." It allows federal employees -- but not retirees -- to pay their health insurance premiums with pretax money, saving more than $400 a year for the typical enrollee.

Older adults make themselves heard on prescription drugs (August 30, 2003)   
Myrna Fichtenbaum, 73, and Audrey Vallely, 77, both support a national prescription drug benefit for the elderly. But they back differing approaches.   Fichtenbaum, of University City, is a member of the Older Women's League - which joined a cadre of other groups, led by the national Alliance of Retired Americans, in picketing Wednesday outside the Clayton office of Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo. They were protesting his support for a measure that opponents say will force many elderly people into private insurance plans and threaten the future of Medicare. On Thursday and Friday, members of the Seniors Coalition, a national group that backs the bill, held supportive events in St. Charles and St. Louis counties. The group also stopped by the local office of Rep. Todd Akin, R-Town and Country, to laud his support of their view.

Committee calls church to respond to needs of older adults (August 21, 2003)  
The United Methodist Committee on Older Adults, the denominational agency responsible for responding to the older adult concerns, has sent an urgent call to action asking the church to pay attention to the "declining quality of life for older persons.” Some of the issues raised are the high costs of drugs, tax cuts for the very wealthy that significantly reduce funds for health, education and basic services, and undermining regulations that protect worker’s rights and pension guarantees. The committee is concerned that many public policies put into place to help older adults are being weaken and eroded.

Unfulfilled Retirees Back At Barracks (August 26, 2003)
When Capt. Dan Stebbins retired last year after 29 years with the state police, he made a list of projects to do in his free time, including yard work and home improvements.The state allows retired employees to reapply for their job within a year without losing their benefits. Such requests usually are granted unless there have been layoffs or the job has been eliminated. Sgt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, said the policy has been in place for as long as he can remember, but that only a small number of troopers have taken advantage of it.

Elderly inmates cost state up to $70,000 a year apiece (August 24, 2003)
The number of older inmates in Louisiana prisons is growing rapidly — and with it, the cost of keeping them. Prison officials expect the number of inmates to grow 15 percent by 2012. But even if it stayed the same, the number of inmates who are at least 50 years old could triple to more than 1,800, they say. Ailments common to the middle-aged and elderly mean their care can cost up to $70,000 a year apiece, more than double the cost for younger inmates.

Ageism in the workplace (August 24, 2003)
The lagging economy and a graying work force have been prime factors in the record-high number of age discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal 2002. In the year ending Sept. 30, it peaked at 19,921. That translates to a 14.5 percent increase compared with the previous year. Age discrimination claims grew at a higher rate than all other types of discrimination except for those based on religion. Employment law attorneys and other experts say less-blatant examples of age discrimination, which are harder to prove, will most likely continue to rise as they have since 1999.

Seniors give frozen meals chilly reception (August 21, 2003)
Ora Smith shuffles around her tiny kitchen taking soup from the cupboard and tuna from the fridge. Yesterday, this was her lunch – and dinner. She paused to recall the way her noon meal used to be before Bedford County Area Agency on Aging switched from hot meals, delivered daily, to frozen meals delivered once a week to last for seven days. Now, she will have no fresh fruit, no vegetables, cooked or raw, no fruit juice. Dessert will be some canned applesauce stashed in the refrigerator.

Seniors' families swamp researcher with nursing-home complaints (21 August, 2003)
After watching her father's health deteriorate in a nursing home, Stephanie Baziuk thought there had to be a better way for him to live out his final years. She pulled her 90-year-old father, John Lisowy, out of the long-term care facility after less than two months and built a special room in her house. An outside caregiver spends eight hours each day with him. Lisowy also benefits from the convenience and comfort of living at home. Capital Health pays $3,000 a month for the caregiver.

Relaxing can wait, as retirees flood job market (August 21, 2003)
Last month, nearly another 1 million older Americans were searching for work. While seniors were also hired in large numbers during the booming late 1990s because of labor shortages, the trend has continued during faltering economic times, as cautious employers turn to those they see as reliable as well as inexpensive. Employment experts believe the surge in senior workers is likely to have a spillover effect on the labor force as a whole, since they are competing with younger workers for available positions.

Delivering independence (August 21, 2003)
Businesses that help seniors live a fuller life are "a growth industry, without question," says Debbie Seplow, owner of two Home Instead franchises in the Valley. Although nursing assistance has been available for years, the boom has been in non-medical care, says Jim McCabe, a professor of social work at Arizona State University West and owner of Eldercare Resources. "In the field of social sciences and health, it's the fastest growing health care specialty," he says.

Donated air conditioners bring relief to the elderly (August 21, 2003)
In the Kansas City area, a huge percentage of households -- 84 percent -- have central air conditioning, helping ensure the health of those residents. Still, it's unknown how thousands go without. Over the next few days, the Kansas City area's high temperatures are expected to continue topping 100 degrees or remain in the 90s. Nonetheless, the Salvation Army, which stockpiles fans and supplies them to about 30 area social service agencies, still has at least 100 unused fans in a warehouse.

JF&CS home-care workers help elderly stay home (April 15, 2003)
Often, when a person gets older, it gets harder to accomplish everyday tasks such as vacuuming, taking out the trash or even something as personal as bathing. Jewish Family & Children Services, through its home care services program, helps about 220 clients with these services and more every month. The home care staff consists of nurses - either licensed practical nurses or certified nurse assistants - and home-care aides. Currently there are about 50 homemakers and a handful of nurses on staff

Garden gives area refugees a place to heal (August 14, 2003)
A community garden with lush green banana trees and rows of leafy Asian vegetables grows on three-fourths of an acre at North Fitzhugh Avenue in east Dallas. Gardeners - mostly elderly Cambodians and a few Laotians - cluster under a makeshift canopy of brightly colored fabrics, selling their exotic produce each weekend. Since 1986, the garden just north of downtown Dallas has been a center for displaced refugees who seek comfort and healing among friends and the soil.

Lemoore retired sailor: Misses Constellation's retirement ceremony (August 14, 2003)
The date, Aug. 7, 2003 - was a special day for the Navy, for the USS Constellation and for a Lemoore Navy veteran. Although, some of the estimated 60,000 sailors who served aboard the Connie were present in San Diego when the decommissioning ceremony took place, John Grego, 67, Lemoore, wasn't there. And Grego knows he will probably regret not taking the time away from a part-time job, part-time volunteer position, for the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce. His attendance in San Diego would have marked a milestone few of the thousands of sailors who walked her decks and readied and flew her planes into war could claim.

'Elder' tells of battles won, battles left to win (August 14, 2003)
Oliver W. Hill Sr., a former civil rights attorney, was honored at a reception at High Street Baptist Church on Monday. Mr. Hill sat in his wheelchair, microphone in hand, talking to a roomful of people he couldn't see. The years have blinded his vision and weakened his health, but he still has things to say. His life is a story of a black man born at the dawn of the last century, raised in Roanoke's Jim Crow neighborhoods, schooled in the nation's capital to be "social engineer" who would use the law to attack racism, and trained to fight the courtroom battles that prompted the nation's highest court to outlaw school segregation and open the doors to America's civil rights struggle.

Planning is key to a happy retirement (August 14, 2003)
According to Webster’s dictionary, retirement means withdrawal from active engagement in one’s occupation. It certainly doesn’t mean dropping out of life and doing nothing. It is unrealistic to view retirement as a single act in time. It is much wiser financially and psychologically to start planning for retirement years in advance.

Aging inmates present prison crisis (August 11, 2003)
In a state where a ''life sentence'' means just that, officials at Angola are determined to provide ''death with dignity'' for inmates. There is a hospice for the terminally ill. No one dies alone. Since 1998, a glass-enclosed hearse, made by prisoners and drawn by two horses, carries bodies to the prison cemetery in handmade coffins. Inmates walk behind, singing Amazing Grace. Of the 5,018 inmates at Angola -- 115 miles northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi River -- 90% will die in state custody, says Angola's warden, Burl Cain. That's a result of longer and mandatory sentences in recent years, with limited parole opportunities.

Non-profit brain drain? (August 11, 2003)
Non-profits across the country, disproportionately run by baby boomers, face a mass exodus of top leadership in the coming decade -- a generational shift that could pose a crisis to an industry that already struggles to compete with compensation in the business world.In the Bay Area, the problem is further compounded by the high cost of living, which could make attracting the next generation of leaders even more difficult.

Elderly's car reliance is seen increasing (August 8, 2003)
Older Americans -- the majority of whom live in suburbs -- will be ever more dependent on cars, increasing the potential for isolation and deadly accidents like the crash at a California farmer's market that killed 10 last month, a new report says. The report concludes that transportation alternatives will need to be funded as America ages, and also that suburban neighborhoods should be redesigned so residents can walk to stores and restaurants more. ''We aren't saying that older Americans need to move back into cities. But we can design our communities and neighborhoods to give older Americans more choice, so that driving is not the only option,'' says Mr. Robert Puentes, senior research manager at the Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Crime against elderly top concern (August 8, 2003)
The senior protection unit of the Lucas County prosecutor’s office is helping elderly residents stand up against crime. The unit has worked with senior citizens for a little over a year, prosecuting cases against their abusers and holding informational meetings at local senior events. "Crime prevention is our big focus," said Denise Cubbon, the assistant county prosecutor who leads the unit. "Our goal is to empower seniors."

Elderly widow has warning for minister (July 7, 2003)
An elderly North Shore woman at the centre of Judith Tizard's grilling in Parliament over the Auckland Regional Council's rates rises has some political advice for the Auckland Issues Minister. Janie Farquharson told the Herald: "If she wants to stay in Parliament, she better do a lot of thinking ... because, believe me, she won't have a seat there next time. The 88-year-old Takapuna resident's comments came as Ms Tizard, daughter of former Governor-General Dame Cath Tizard, continued to be bombarded in Parliament about the effect of the ARC's rise on superannuitants and its effectiveness in improving public transport.

Seniors' skills defy the aging process (August 6, 2003)
Amazement and glee greeted Jack Nicklaus' unexpected victory at the 1986 Masters because of his undeniable appeal and advanced age. Seventeen years later, players aged 50, 49 and 47 have won PGA Tour events this season, and on the Champions Tour. "The biggest thing this tour needs is a commitment from a new crop of guys, like Arnold and Player and Chi Chi and Trevino did to establish the tour 20 years ago. Guys will come over because of the chance to become champions again. That's the hook. Money is not the determining factor. Longevity in a person's career is the measure of greatness."

Boomers teeter on the edge of 'old' (August 6, 2003)
Millions of baby boomers, raised on rock 'n' roll and once the drivers of America's youth culture, have finally been tossed in with their aged parents. They're now part of the U.S. Census Bureau's "older population," meaning everyone age 55 and up. As "near-oldsters," boomers will soon get the answer to a question that has hung over them since Lennon and McCartney first posed it in 1967: "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?"

Virginia Popular Spot for Retirees (August 6, 2003)
Virginia became one of the most popular places in the nation for the elderly to move in the 1990s, and Florida attracted fewer retirees for the first time in decades, according to a Census Bureau report to be released today. A broad reshuffling of the top retirement destinations means that a growing number of older people are moving to the Southwest and a swath of mild-weather Atlantic Coast states that include Virginia and Delaware. Florida still gained far more new elderly residents than any other state, but it drew fewer in the late 1990s than in the late 1980s. So did Oregon and Washington state, which were 1980s hot spots.

Organization provides seniors with chance to live a dream (August 6, 2003)
This week, 73-year-old Rachel Rosine was able to relive the golden days of her youth as an Eastern Airlines stewardess in the early 1950s. For the first time in years, she boarded an airplane, took a seat in the front of the cabin, pressed her face to the window and waved. The trip was a dream, sponsored by a nonprofit organization that strives to fulfill the wishes of people living in eldercare communities.

Hotel site will again house elderly tenants (August 5, 2003)
Exactly 25 years after the International Hotel's mostly elderly tenants were thrown out onto the street, plans were explained Sunday to build a senior citizen housing development as well as a religious school and a Manilatown museum. Community members and activists gathered Sunday near the site in Chinatown for an eviction commemoration to remember the past and plan for the future.

The Old Man On Campus Adjusting To Dormitory Life (August 5, 2003)
Ron Mazzoli has just completed a crash course in Dorm Living 101. The 70-year-old former U.S. congressman, who is enrolled in the Mid-Career Master's Degree Program in Public Administration at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, is the oldest student to attend the school. If he completes the yearlong program, he'll get his graduate degree exactly 50 years after receiving his bachelor's degree from Notre Dame.

Oakland program links youth to elderly (August 5, 2003)
On Sunday, the House of Unity -- a community service nonprofit based at Eastmont Town Center -- started a new outreach program at the Senior Citizens Center. Every Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., youths and elders will gather to swap stories, share a soul food meal and enjoy entertainment. Called "Bridging the Divide," the program also will be an opportunity for one-on-one mentoring.

Elderly reclaim independence through new Senior Center van (August 5, 2003)
For senior citizens who live on their own, transportation can be one of the greatest challenges. Not even taking into consideration the need to obtain necessities like medicine, food and clothes, seniors just like to get out once in a while to shop or eat a meal in a restaurant. The staff and board of directors of the Bellows Falls Area Senior Center understand this, and after watching a string of bus companies fail to deliver the services they need, they have taken care of the issue on their own. Stay tuned!