It is a momentous day in America and senior citizens, who have seen the most of our history, are the most aware of today’s historic significance. We now live in a different and better country. Americans have handed the mantle of power and leadership to a young, brilliant, man of African descent. So, President Barack Obama has crossed the bar but he must now face one of the most challenging environments ever to greet an incoming president. Senior citizens will be impacted by his leadership in the same way as all Americans on many issues, but will also have a unique set of concerns – primarily involving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Year after year seniors are warned that these key programs, known as entitlements, are going broke. Just in the last few days the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services warned that the trust fund that is the primary source of funding for Medicare will run out of money in 2016 – just seven years from now.
The importance of this program to seniors is obvious – seniors are the sickest of Americans and the cost of health care continues to out pace prices for other goods and services. It places a large and unique financial burden on older Americans that would lead to disaster for many – probably most – without the government’s health care program for seniors.
Leading the surge in health care costs have been prescription drugs, although, price escalation seems to have declined in recent months due, primarily, to an influx of generic drugs. The drug program added by Medicare in 2005 has made it possible for many more seniors to afford their prescribed medicines.
“Social Security is still the foundation for most seniors' retirement. Without this critical safety-net program, over half of all older Americans would fall into poverty,” according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
The importance of Social Security to older Americans is probably greater than most assume. And, it has become even more important to those seniors who have lost much of their retirement security in the stock market crunch.
Social Security is expected to take in less money in 2011 than in pays out in benefits and will have to dip into reserves.
The strain on the government and taxpayers is tremendous and will get a whole lot worse. Social Security recently announced a new online enrollment system and said they expect to enroll 10,000 seniors a day for the next 20 years in Social Security and Medicare.
Medicaid, often over-looked, remains the real safety net for millions of older people who run out of money in their old age, often due to health care costs or the necessity of long-term care, which is extremely expensive and not covered by Medicare.
President Obama is not unaware of the challenge to preserve these critical programs but the question that worries senior citizens is what will be the cost to them. Will benefits be trimmed for these programs?
Obama told the Washington Post last week that the nation's long-term economic recovery cannot be attained unless the government finally gets control over its most costly entitlement programs.
The Post said, “That discussion will begin next month, Obama said, when he convenes a ‘fiscal responsibility summit’ before delivering his first budget to Congress. He said his administration will begin confronting the issues of entitlement reform and long-term budget deficits soon after it jump-starts job growth and the stock market.
"’What we have done is kicked this can down the road. We are now at the end of the road and are not in a position to kick it any further,’ he said. ‘We have to signal seriousness in this by making sure some of the hard decisions are made under my watch, not someone else's.’"
There is little there to explain any specifics the new president may propose for the entitlement programs at his “fiscal responsibility summit” in the next few days, but it is clear that he plans to take substantial action to save these programs. As he said, we can’t kick the can down the street any further.
In speaking of the entitlement programs, Obama told the Post, "This, by the way, is where there are going to be very difficult choices and issues of sacrifice and responsibility and duty. You have to have a president who is willing to spend some political capital on this. And I intend to spend some."
It is time for action on these senior programs and we hope all advocacy groups, political parties and all those who benefit from these programs will have open minds. Let’s don’t jump to squash ideas and oppose proposals before they have been fully presented and thoroughly debated.
>> To read the complete interview reported in the Washington Post, click here.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com
January 20, 2009
USA: President Obama Appears Poised to Tackle the Future of Senior Citizen Programs Quickly
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas / SeniorJournal.com / January 20, 2009
Senior Citizen Opinions & Analysis
We can’t kick this can any further down the street, the new president says
By Tucker Sutherland, editor & publisher
It is a momentous day in America and senior citizens, who have seen the most of our history, are the most aware of today’s historic significance. We now live in a different and better country. Americans have handed the mantle of power and leadership to a young, brilliant, man of African descent. So, President Barack Obama has crossed the bar but he must now face one of the most challenging environments ever to greet an incoming president. Senior citizens will be impacted by his leadership in the same way as all Americans on many issues, but will also have a unique set of concerns – primarily involving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Year after year seniors are warned that these key programs, known as entitlements, are going broke. Just in the last few days the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services warned that the trust fund that is the primary source of funding for Medicare will run out of money in 2016 – just seven years from now.
The importance of this program to seniors is obvious – seniors are the sickest of Americans and the cost of health care continues to out pace prices for other goods and services. It places a large and unique financial burden on older Americans that would lead to disaster for many – probably most – without the government’s health care program for seniors.
Leading the surge in health care costs have been prescription drugs, although, price escalation seems to have declined in recent months due, primarily, to an influx of generic drugs. The drug program added by Medicare in 2005 has made it possible for many more seniors to afford their prescribed medicines.
“Social Security is still the foundation for most seniors' retirement. Without this critical safety-net program, over half of all older Americans would fall into poverty,” according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
The importance of Social Security to older Americans is probably greater than most assume. And, it has become even more important to those seniors who have lost much of their retirement security in the stock market crunch.
Social Security is expected to take in less money in 2011 than in pays out in benefits and will have to dip into reserves.
The strain on the government and taxpayers is tremendous and will get a whole lot worse. Social Security recently announced a new online enrollment system and said they expect to enroll 10,000 seniors a day for the next 20 years in Social Security and Medicare.
Medicaid, often over-looked, remains the real safety net for millions of older people who run out of money in their old age, often due to health care costs or the necessity of long-term care, which is extremely expensive and not covered by Medicare.
President Obama is not unaware of the challenge to preserve these critical programs but the question that worries senior citizens is what will be the cost to them. Will benefits be trimmed for these programs?
Obama told the Washington Post last week that the nation's long-term economic recovery cannot be attained unless the government finally gets control over its most costly entitlement programs.
The Post said, “That discussion will begin next month, Obama said, when he convenes a ‘fiscal responsibility summit’ before delivering his first budget to Congress. He said his administration will begin confronting the issues of entitlement reform and long-term budget deficits soon after it jump-starts job growth and the stock market.
"’What we have done is kicked this can down the road. We are now at the end of the road and are not in a position to kick it any further,’ he said. ‘We have to signal seriousness in this by making sure some of the hard decisions are made under my watch, not someone else's.’"
There is little there to explain any specifics the new president may propose for the entitlement programs at his “fiscal responsibility summit” in the next few days, but it is clear that he plans to take substantial action to save these programs. As he said, we can’t kick the can down the street any further.
In speaking of the entitlement programs, Obama told the Post, "This, by the way, is where there are going to be very difficult choices and issues of sacrifice and responsibility and duty. You have to have a president who is willing to spend some political capital on this. And I intend to spend some."
It is time for action on these senior programs and we hope all advocacy groups, political parties and all those who benefit from these programs will have open minds. Let’s don’t jump to squash ideas and oppose proposals before they have been fully presented and thoroughly debated.
>> To read the complete interview reported in the Washington Post, click here.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com
It is a momentous day in America and senior citizens, who have seen the most of our history, are the most aware of today’s historic significance. We now live in a different and better country. Americans have handed the mantle of power and leadership to a young, brilliant, man of African descent. So, President Barack Obama has crossed the bar but he must now face one of the most challenging environments ever to greet an incoming president. Senior citizens will be impacted by his leadership in the same way as all Americans on many issues, but will also have a unique set of concerns – primarily involving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Year after year seniors are warned that these key programs, known as entitlements, are going broke. Just in the last few days the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services warned that the trust fund that is the primary source of funding for Medicare will run out of money in 2016 – just seven years from now.
The importance of this program to seniors is obvious – seniors are the sickest of Americans and the cost of health care continues to out pace prices for other goods and services. It places a large and unique financial burden on older Americans that would lead to disaster for many – probably most – without the government’s health care program for seniors.
Leading the surge in health care costs have been prescription drugs, although, price escalation seems to have declined in recent months due, primarily, to an influx of generic drugs. The drug program added by Medicare in 2005 has made it possible for many more seniors to afford their prescribed medicines.
“Social Security is still the foundation for most seniors' retirement. Without this critical safety-net program, over half of all older Americans would fall into poverty,” according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
The importance of Social Security to older Americans is probably greater than most assume. And, it has become even more important to those seniors who have lost much of their retirement security in the stock market crunch.
Social Security is expected to take in less money in 2011 than in pays out in benefits and will have to dip into reserves.
The strain on the government and taxpayers is tremendous and will get a whole lot worse. Social Security recently announced a new online enrollment system and said they expect to enroll 10,000 seniors a day for the next 20 years in Social Security and Medicare.
Medicaid, often over-looked, remains the real safety net for millions of older people who run out of money in their old age, often due to health care costs or the necessity of long-term care, which is extremely expensive and not covered by Medicare.
President Obama is not unaware of the challenge to preserve these critical programs but the question that worries senior citizens is what will be the cost to them. Will benefits be trimmed for these programs?
Obama told the Washington Post last week that the nation's long-term economic recovery cannot be attained unless the government finally gets control over its most costly entitlement programs.
The Post said, “That discussion will begin next month, Obama said, when he convenes a ‘fiscal responsibility summit’ before delivering his first budget to Congress. He said his administration will begin confronting the issues of entitlement reform and long-term budget deficits soon after it jump-starts job growth and the stock market.
"’What we have done is kicked this can down the road. We are now at the end of the road and are not in a position to kick it any further,’ he said. ‘We have to signal seriousness in this by making sure some of the hard decisions are made under my watch, not someone else's.’"
There is little there to explain any specifics the new president may propose for the entitlement programs at his “fiscal responsibility summit” in the next few days, but it is clear that he plans to take substantial action to save these programs. As he said, we can’t kick the can down the street any further.
In speaking of the entitlement programs, Obama told the Post, "This, by the way, is where there are going to be very difficult choices and issues of sacrifice and responsibility and duty. You have to have a president who is willing to spend some political capital on this. And I intend to spend some."
It is time for action on these senior programs and we hope all advocacy groups, political parties and all those who benefit from these programs will have open minds. Let’s don’t jump to squash ideas and oppose proposals before they have been fully presented and thoroughly debated.
>> To read the complete interview reported in the Washington Post, click here.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com
