Family Caregiver Alliance DataBase of State and Federal Legislation Updated

An important source of legislative information for policymakers and program managers involved in family caregiving issues has been updated to reflect all federal and state legislative initiative on family caregiving between 2004 and 2006.

According to a recent letter distributed by the San Francisco-based National Center on Caregiving (Part of the Family Caregiver Alliance), "Over 100 bills with provisions to help family caregivers were introduced at the federal and state levels in the last three years. Five of the 26 federal bills introduced in the 109th Congress (2005-2006) were enacted into law. Out of the 32 states that introduced 78 caregiving bills between 2004 and 2006, one out of four states (13) enacted 16 bills into law." Legislation in the database can be searched by state or according to the policy strategy used to support family caregivers, such as tax incentives, Medicaid policies, and respite assistance.

For more information, please contact Amy Friedrich-Karnik, Policy Specialist, at (415)434-3388 or afriedrich@caregiver.org.

National Council on Aging Working With 'CVS/pharmacy' on Senior Health

"Prescription for Better Health" campaign promises to promote education, prevention and access to benefits.

Drugstore giant CVS/pharmacy announced February 27 that they will partner with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) on a massive public awareness campaign designed to improve the health and well-being of older Americans.

Activities tied to the campaign, such as health screenings, information sessions and distribution of educational materials, will take place in more than 6,200 CVS stores nationwide, as well as being organized by community-based organizations affiliated with NCOA, according to a press release issued by CVS' corporate communications office.

From the press release:

Components of the "Prescription for Better Health" campaign include:

• Prevention: CVS/pharmacy will offer regular health screenings in select markets with community outreach supported by NCOA. In February and March, CVS/pharmacy will provide more than 15,000 blood pressure and cholesterol screenings in its stores. Future programs will include bone density screenings, flu clinics and others.
• Education: CVS/pharmacy and NCOA will inform seniors about how to take better care of their health through the availability of educational resources in CVS/pharmacy locations nationwide. During February's American Heart Month, CVS/pharmacy launched this effort by providing a free HealthBeat resource book on heart health in stores and offering the counsel of CVS pharmacists. More Heart Health tips, advice and downloadable health management tools are available on CVS.com. On an ongoing basis, the CVS/pharmacy Wellness Information Centers offer information on health issues, disease states, and advice for caregivers.
• Avoiding Adverse Drug Reaction: CVS pharmacists will host information sessions in their communities as part of ongoing "prescription brown bag" events at local senior centers and NCOA member organizations. These educational seminars will focus on preventing dangerous drug interactions and managing medications effectively. Attendees will have the opportunity to review their medications with a CVS pharmacist and receive tips on medication management.
• Access: CVS/pharmacy will promote NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp(R), the nation's most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited income and resources. BenefitsCheckUp includes more than 1,350 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranging from energy assistance and nutrition programs to Extra Help through Medicare Part D and income supplements. CVS/pharmacy and NCOA will offer a co- branded version of the site at www.benefitscheckup.org/cvs and informational brochures are now available in CVS/pharmacy stores nationwide.

"The 'Prescription for Better Health' campaign will enable CVS to reach even deeper into the community to offer seniors health care resources, information, and the expertise of our pharmacists," said Larry Merlo, President of CVS/pharmacy - Retail. "The aging population is in need of resources to help them maintain the best possible quality of life. Our new partnership with the National Council on Aging will help fulfill our commitment to helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives."

"Improving the health and well-being of older Americans is key to fulfilling NCOA's mission," said James Firman, President and CEO of the National Council on Aging. "This partnership will make a real difference in the lives of thousands of seniors across the country."

For more information about this program or CVS/pharmacy, to read the release in it's entirety or to get more information about CVS/pharmacy, visit the company's online press room at the following URL: http://www.cvs.com/pressroom .

Lt. Governor Bauer to Present Living Well SC program at Diabetes Education Event in Columbia

Lt Governor André Bauer will speak Wednesday, March 14, at a "The Language of Diabetes," a public event in Columbia designed to help educate people who suffer from diabetes learn about ways to better manage their condition. The Lt. Governor will outline a new project called Living Well South Carolina that will be piloted in 15 counties beginning in March, as well as other initiatives and activities of the Lt. Governor's Office on Aging.

The event will also feature a presentation by Patricia Wilson Witherspoon, M.D., Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Witherspoon will talk about:

• Explaining Key Measures (A1C, LDL, HDL, and others)
• Knowing Your Numbers and What They Mean
• Importance of Key Exams and Why We Do Certain Tests

Living Well South Carolina is a public-private partnership bringing an innovative health program designed to teach seniors who suffer from a list of common chronic diseases (including diabetes) techniques for better managing their conditions in a classroom setting. Classes will begin in March in 12 of the 15 counties piloting the project, and program leaders expect to add classes in the additional counties in the second and third years of the program, with classes eventually available in all counties statewide if the project shows positive results. USC’s Arnold School of Public Health is a program partner, and will provide monitoring and evaluation of the participants in Living Well classes to gauge those results.

The Language of Diabetes luncheon is free and open to the public. However, seating is limited, so you must call ahead before March 8 to reserve a seat.

(Click on the image at the left to see a full-size flyer with additional information about the event.)

This event is sponsored by Care Improvement Plus of South Carolina. Care Improvement Plus is a Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan designed specifically for Medicare beneficiaries living with diabetes and other chronic health conditions

Large Increase Predicted for 2008 Medicare Part B Premiums

The online news service SENIOR JOURNAL.com reports that experts are predicting the largest ever increase in Medicare Part B premiums in 2008. Part B coverage pays for regular Doctor's visits and other outpatient services for those Medicare beneficviaries who choose to sign up for it.

According to the February 13 article, an analysis by the TREA Senior Citizens League estimates that 2008 Part B premiums will rise by 17 percent, or an average of more than $15. Beginning in 2007, higher-income Medicare beneficiaries began paying a larger share of the costs of Part B based on ther income level. SENIOR JOURNAL.com has also reported that under President Bush's 2008 budget plan, those increased payment rates tied to income will also be extended to Part D prescription drug coverage rates.

From the article:

"For years, we've been sounding the alarm bell that America's seniors are falling further and further behind, but we've never seen anything quite like these projections," said Ralph McCutchen, Chairman of TREA Senior Citizens League.

"If our annual Social Security increases get eaten up by just one part of Medicare, how are we supposed to keep up with the rising costs of everything from prescription drugs to home heating to groceries?"

Over the past five years, Medicare Part B premiums have skyrocketed 60 percent, while the COLA has increased just 14 percent. If these new projections for 2008 prove correct, it will mean Medicare Part B premiums will have soared 77 percent in six years, while the COLA, intended to help seniors offset the effects of inflation, will have increased just 15 percent.

According to their web site, the TREA Senior Citizens league "consists of active senior citizens concerned about the protection of their Social Security, Medicare, and veteran or military retiree benefits."

The organization was first established in 1992 as a special project of The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), which was founded in 1963. In September 1994, TSCL was incorporated in Colorado as an independent citizens' action and education non-profit organization.

Retirement Community Residents Working as Television Producers for New Cable Network - Retirement Living TV

The Washington Post's online edition ran a story February 13 about a new cable television network started by entrepreneur John Erickson. Some of the cable network's programming is produced by seniors at one of the 18 Erickson Retirement Communities located in the U.S.

According to the article "On This Video Set, Seniors Run the Show - TV Production Tests Skills, Experience of Erickson Retirement Community Residents" by Post reporter Meghan Collins Sullivan:

The studio sounds and looks much like any other; what's unusual is that it's located at the Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, and the show's host, camera operators and production engineers -- the Digital Maniacs, as they call themselves -- are all in their 70s and 80s. With topics as varied as local history, politics, travel and fine wine, the show is part of a growing effort to attract retirees to the properties run by Erickson Retirement Communities.

Each of the company's locations across the country will eventually house a TV studio, says John Erickson, 63, founder and CEO of Baltimore-based Erickson Retirement Communities and Retirement Living TV. As of late 2006, full studios were operating in nine of Erickson's 18 communities, which offer their 19,000 residents everything from assisted living to nursing-home-type services.

Erickson is basing his business model on the conviction that the growing market of aging baby boomers expects to remain engaged in their communities long after they retire. And that conviction is resonating among current residents. "Us old folks have to have something else to do besides reading," says Eck Muessig, 82, a host of "Village in Motion."

The complete article can be found online at the paper's web site at www.washingtonpost.com .

New Fact Sheets From George Washington University's Long Term Care Financing Project

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute is engaged in a project that aims to jumpstart policy discussions regarding how we finance long term care in the U.S, - and perhaps more importantly given the demographic changes coming our way - how we WILL finance it in the decades to come.

From the project's web site:

Fundamental are policy initiatives to improve long-term care financing. The need for long-term care is unpredictable and therefore the kind of care that insurance is meant to address. However, neither public nor private insurance protection is adequate. Medicare, which provides health insurance to many who need long-term care, covers very little long-term care. Private insurance for long-term care is growing, but currently reaches only a very small portion of the population. Medicaid, our long-term care safety net, does not protect against financial catastrophe; it finances services only after catastrophe strikes.

We can do better—not only in meeting today’s needs but in meeting the greater needs that will arise from the baby boom generation. To do so will require recognizing that long-term care financing arrangements need not be as they are. The risk can be spread through insurance, just as the risks of needing health care, disability or retirement income are spread.

Two new papers, or "fact sheets," released by the project's leaders in January provide interesting data about this topic.

National Spending on Long-Term Care, by Harriet L. Komisar and Lee Shirey Thompson, looks at total spending for nursing home and home care services nationwide, in total and by major payers.

Medicaid and Long-Term Care, by Laura Summer, describes Medicaid's role in financing long-term care, with a particular focus on home and community-based services and how states' provision of these services may be affected by the policy changes in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

State of Kentucky Preparing for Senior Boom

State government leaders in Kentucky are beginning to worry about whether their state's communities are prepared for the aging boom, and are taking some of the same steps that South Carolina has to address the future of aging in their state.

Kentucky lawmakers have created a new agency specifically to deal with the issues -- the Kentucky Department for Aging and Independent Living -- according to a January 29 Associated Press story that apperared in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The AP's Roger Alford writes that:

"What for decades was simply a warning is becoming reality: A huge population of baby boomers have become bona fide senior citizens.

With that in mind, Kentucky officials are pushing to ensure that boomers, the first of whom turned 60 last year, have adequate services as they enter their later years.

That means communities around the state need to make sure businesses are accessible, sidewalks are safe, elevators are numerous, and homebuilders stop constructing so many "Peter Pan houses" for people who think they'll never grow old, because the 60-plus population is about to explode."

According to the story, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher in particular has made preparing for the future of aging in his state a priority by creating a plan called the Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative, "a collaborative effort that involves government workers and university researchers in identifying potential problems and recommending solutions as the largest segment of the state's population grows old."

Read the entire story on the Herald leader web site www.kentucky.com .