Aging and Poverty Commentaries
"Social Security and Medicare are not broken. They are successful, popular programs that protect America's elderly from poverty. Cutting them would be devastating."
"Older Americans heard the words 'cuts' and 'Medicare' in the same sentence and were more likely to believe healthcare reform would hurt -- not help -- them... [T]he reality [is] that the newly passed legislation lays the groundwork for greatly improving... healthcare services for seniors..."
"Medicare and Medicaid are the primary drivers of federal spending increases in coming decades. Both programs rely on the private health system to deliver care, so they are at its mercy just like businesses and families."
"Almost 90% of seniors need and have some form of supplemental coverage on top of Medicare. Further, many low-income Americans rely on Medicare Advantage to supplement coverage"
"Cash-strapped older Americans are racking up credit card debt faster than other consumers amid dwindling retirement portfolios and rising medical costs, a study shows."
"Increasing the number of people who can't afford retirement could give us widespread poverty among the elderly -- a social ill that the 1935 Social Security Act aimed to eliminate"
"Because of the silence -- coupled with the limited access most low-income women have to quality health care -- cancer is often discovered in African-American women at late stages"
"Most likely, Social Security will become a "needs-based" payout to low-income, elderly recipients -- not a return of the "investments" you made with all those FICA deductions"
"According to state figures, 18 percent of married couples over 65 earn less than $15,000 per year, 27 percent of households 65-74 earn less than 200 percent of the poverty level"
"Under current law, all but the lowest-income seniors are charged equally for the same taxpayer-subsidized prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D -- about 25 percent of the cost"
"As foster grandparents, seniors who are isolated and struggling to make ends meet can earn a monthly stipend by volunteering to tutor/mentor at-risk children in schools for 15 to 40 hours per week"
"[T]hey also must try to keep in mind the unintended consequences of forcing cuts on home- and community-based services for low-income frail elderly"
"Most home care aides are women, low income and minority, and many of them are immigrants"
"I cannot consciously apologize for providing food to families in need or providing recreational activity to seniors on fixed income"