Leadership Council of Aging Organizations meets

Debra Whitman, from the Senate Special Committee on Aging, addressed the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) January 7th and urged continued advocacy for aging issues. Looking back to the 110th Congress, she noted that Elder Justice and Criminal Background Check bills had strong support and expects that both will be introduced in the 111th Congress. She also mentioned watching for reintroduction this year of legislation to increase reimbursement for volunteers, improve nursing home care, support caregivers, address the need for a larger health care workforce, improvements to Medicare and reform for long-term care.

Health care reform must include the integration of long term care she said, but cautioned not to expect a large scale revamping of long-term care as a part of the overall health care reform. She suggested that components of long-term care reform may have a chance of being included in health care reform package. She encouraged continued advocacy for the issues about which we are most concerned.

Steve McConnell from Atlantic Philanthropies also spoke to the members about the foundation and its goals. Some of the areas of focus are on aging, disadvantaged youth and human rights. The fund’s goal is to grant several billion dollars to organizations over the next 8-9 years and exhaust the fund. Atlantic Philanthropies is non-partisan but is interested in funding advocacy to influence public policy and providing support that will have a lasting effect.

In other business LCAO is planning for hill briefings in the next few months with new and returning members of Congress to garner support for aging legislative and budget priorities.

Secretary of HHS confirmation process begins

Former Senator Tom Daschle appeared before the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee as a first step in the confirmation process for his appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services. In his remarks, Senator Daschle noted that the problems in our current health care system are “pervasive and corrosive.”

In referring to health care reform efforts in the 1990s he remarked that criticisms were “it took too long, the process was too opaque, the plan was too hard to understand and the change was too dramatic.” He noted that these are not good reasons for failing to act. Further, he quoted Nelson Mandela “Some things seem impossible until they are done.” Senator Daschle asserted that health care reform doesn’t have to be impossible. However, he noted that health care change must include input from the grass roots and community level and that President-elect Obama has received many suggestions from Americans at the website change.org.

He went on to say that high value preventive care is needed and currently the US health system has experienced a failure of preventive care. In addition, studies show that every $1 of prevention results in $5.60 in savings. Disparities in health care access must be addressed as well as the shortage of primary care physicians. Having represented a rural state he mentioned that rural communities often lack sufficient health care resources. Senator Daschle affirmed that health care reform must be guided by evidence and effectiveness. Public health should be strengthened and long-term care for the elderly must be part of health care reform.
Senator Daschle mentions that cost, access and quality are the three big components of health care. He says that we need a framework that provides for more efficiency and more transparency.

Other topics discussed at the hearing included:
1. improving communication among the component agencies and offices of HHS
2. evaluation of Medicare C, Medicare generally and Medicaid to identify efficiencies
3. dental services as an essential component in health care and lack of access must be addressed
4. mental health as a part of health care reform and lack of coverage and access
5. needs of individuals with disabilities must be included in part of health care reform
6. ong-term care including care in the least restrictive environment must be included
7. more emphasis on wellness in our communities including school based programs, community based wellness programs and mental health recognizing that physical ailments are related to stress, depression, etc.
8. transportation, education, workplace issues that don’t squarely fall within HHS but are part of health care reform
9. view health care as a pyramid with primary care as a base and heart transplants and more intensive tests like MRIs at the top
10. make wellness “cool” and integrate wellness in all aspects of our lives
11. transparency from HHS in providing data
12. pay for prevention and wellness services
13. vigorous top down review of HHS to cut duplication and waste
14. take ideology out of decisions and allow scientists to conduct the science to find the new medicines and treatments
15. prevention can be intervention in chronic disease to keep the disease from progressing,
16. senior centers are in every community and could be a place to relate the prevention and compliance strategies recommended by health care providers
17. integration of health care providers in care settings
18. promote health IT
19. review Medicare part D for negotiation of drug prices and fixing the “donut hole”
20. encourage more primary care providers and start with funding primary care providers including nurses, pharmacists, therapists, etc.
21. importance of National Institutes of Health.

To view the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing visit http://www.cspan.org/ and follow the links to the Daschle confirmation hearing.