Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter

Volume 4, Number 3, May 2010

This bimonthly e-newsletter highlights key developments and viewpoints in the field of aging policy from a wide variety of sources, including articles and reports circulating in the media, academy, think tanks, private sector, government and nonprofit organizations.

The goal of this email publication is to reach teachers, students, and citizens interested in aging-related issues, especially those who may not have sufficient access to policy information disseminated both in Washington and around the country.

Want the most up-to-date access to aging policy resources? Follow us on Twitter @Aging_Society!

I. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON?

A. Health Care Utilization Among Adults Aged 55-64 Years: How Has It Changed Over the Past 10 Years?: The National Center for Health Statistics released a data brief describing the recent increases in chronic illnesses and inpatient health care among those ages 55 to 64. That this Baby-Boom vanguard differs from its counterparts a decade earlier raises questions about how its pattern of health care utilization will impact future health care policy. To view a summary of key findings, click here.

B. The Impact of the Recession on Older Americans: This Population Reference Bureau report summarizes how the financial crisis since 2008 has contributed to reduced incomes, declines in consumer wealth, record unemployment, and increased poverty for older adults. For more discussion on the recession's impact on older Americans, listen to this interview by Michael Hurd, director of the Center for the Study of Aging at the RAND Corporation.

C. The 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Stabilizing, But Preparations Continue to Erode: This Employee Benefit Research Institute issue brief examines individuals' confidence levels related to securing a comfortable and financially secure retirements. The survey finds that the record-low confidence levels during the past two years of economic decline have bottomed out, but workers still report a lack of savings and investments and expectations of working longer. For an executive summary of the results, click here.

II. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY?

A. Maximizing the Potential of Older Adults: Benefits to State Economies and Individual Well-Being: This issue brief released by the National Governors Association outlines ways states can engage older adults in paid employment and volunteerism. It suggests strategies such as developing public-private partnerships and strengthening engagement opportunities in workforce, aging, and education state policies. Through innovative programs in work, volunteering, and education, state economies can benefit from tapping into this skilled population and addressing challenges like reduced tax revenues and a smaller pool of experienced workers.

B. The Best and Worst State Practices in Medicaid Long-Term Care: In its new policy brief, the Direct Care Alliance explains the differences among state Medicaid policies and how these translate into state variations in services offered. The brief compares each state's coverage of long-term care services and the amount of spending per recipient on home and community-based services versus nursing homes.

C. Promoting Preventive Services for Adults 50-64: Community and Clinical Partnerships: The CDC just released an interactive online report that allows users to obtain summaries of national, regional, state, and local data for 14 preventive services, such as screenings and immunizations. Users can instantly retrieve comparison data between geographic locations, and can create and print customized reports featuring indicator data, graphics and calls to action. The data and resources aim to inform public health and aging services professionals, researchers, journalists, clinicians and policymakers about key health issues for older adults and proven preventive services programs.

III. THIS ISSUE'S MAJOR POLICY STORY: HOUSING

I taught this last term's policy class at University of Houston's Graduate College of Social Work. While problems to be analyzed were wide-ranging, I was struck by how frequently housing issues emerged. Housing becomes a central issue under the 1980 Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act and amendments to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Being able to pay rent in a stable neighborhood or maintain a safe, inviting residence costs more money than many Americans can afford. Many cases of elder abuse are caused or exacerbated by filth, crime, and inadequate shelter. I have reached the age at which my friends talk about remodeling their homes to accommodate access to kitchens, baths, and bedrooms--or relocating to more hospitable settings. The policy stories that follow provide a lagniappe (as greater numbers of people in Louisiana used to say before Katrina devastated homesteads) to the foundational role that housing plays in considering policies for an aging society.

--Andy Achenbaum


A. Meet the Housing Needs of Older Adults: With more and more older adults wishing to maintain independence and autonomy, supportive services are crucial to allow seniors to remain in their own homes. This online toolkit, produced by AARP and housingpolicy.org, explores the housing challenges facing older adults, including a lack of accessible features, high costs, and long distances to important destinations and amenities. In addition, the toolkit outlines promising policies that communities across the country are using to address these issues.

B. Strategies to Meet the Housing Needs of Older Adults: This AARP Public Policy Institute report provides policy recommendations to address the obstacles older adults face in housing and community design. Looking beyond the shortcomings of home structure and services, the report considers the community as a whole in addressing these problems. It discusses accessible, safe, and affordable housing, access to social services and transportation, and housing models that help allow aging in place. Click here for a summary of the report and a list of related fact sheets.

C. American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) Unveils Design for 2010 Idea House: Designed to represent the future of senior housing, AAHSA's 2,600 square foot Idea House features the latest in senior housing technology and aims to accommodate the changing physical and mental needs of older adults. The model home will be built for the October 2010 AAHSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Los Angeles. The design operates on three guiding principles to empower older adults to remain independent: aging in place, technology, and sustainability. For more information and to view pictures of the design, click here.

D. The Return of the Multigenerational Household: The Pew Research Center found that 16 percent of the U.S. population live in family households that contain two generations of adults. This substantial increase in the number of multigenerational households represents a sharp reversal of a longstanding trend of older adults living alone. The report explains the economic, demographic, and cultural reasons behind these changes, and outlines the implications for older adults in each living situation.

E. Demographics of Homelessness Series: The Rising Elderly Population: Research suggests growing numbers of homeless elderly, in part due to increasing number of baby boomers turning 65. This National Alliance to End Homelessness report describes the recent and projected changes in homelessness among older adults and assesses the ability of public affordable housing programs to handle the projected growth in elderly persons at risk for housing instability and homelessness. The report outlines the need for an increased supply of subsidized affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and better research to understand the homeless elderly population.

IV. WORTH NOTING

A. Long-Term Care Policy Simulator: The SCAN Foundation's interactive website empowers everyday citizens to make choices that shape a public long-term care insurance (LTC) program. The model illustrates how a particular set of choices that go into creating a public LTC insurance program will influence key elements such as premiums, participation rates, and benefits.

B. Chronic Care: Making the Case for Ongoing Care: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released an updated chartbook and presentation examining the impact of chronic conditions on individuals and their caregivers. The data highlights the problems encountered by people living with chronic health conditions, and describes the shortcomings in the current health care model. Although the data show some improvement in services for chronic conditions, they also demonstrate the growing prevalence and cost of chronic care.

C. Still Out, Still Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Baby Boomers: This MetLife Mature Market Institute report shows how the experiences and discrimination faced by many LGBT boomers shape their approaches to retirement and old age. The report finds the LGBT cohort to be similar to the general boomer population in many key areas, including expectations about working and caregiving responsibility. But, LGBT boomers are almost twice as likely to live with a parent and are far more reliant on close friends than are members of the comparison cohort. For a summary of the findings, click here.

V. WHAT'S HAPPENING ABROAD?

A. The Changing Canadian Workplace: This report, released by TD Economics, examines the upcoming shift in the Canadian workplace due to macroeconomic changes, demographic trends, and altering workplace standards. The approaching retirement of the baby boom generation will cause the decline of more than a third of the labour force over the next two decades. This will result in new policy incentives for underrepresented groups, such as immigrants, women, and older workers to enter industries with the greatest shortages. Furthermore, the shift will cause changes relating to pension plans, highly skilled labour, educational obtainment, and income gaps.

B. Older-Age Parents and the AIDS Epidemic in Thailand: Changing Impacts in the Era of Antiretroviral Therapy: This United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific report describes how HIV/AIDS is becoming a chronic but manageable condition due to increasing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries. The report finds that by 2010, about 150,000 Thai parents will have a surviving HIV-infected adult child on ART. This has important policy implications for parents and other family members living with HIV/AIDS, including the need for long-term drug treatment and supportive programs.

C. U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy International Update: This monthly publication covers recent developments in public and private pensions around the world. April's report features updates from Belgium, Ireland, and Australia.

VI. PERSPECTIVES ON POLICY: ROB HUDSON, EDITOR, PP&AR

This important topic of housing brings to mind a recent issue of Public Policy & Aging Report that examines "Livable and Sustainable Communities." The issue reviews community-based housing options for older adults and some of the controversies associated with these types of living situations.

In the lead article, Jon Pynoos and Caroline Cicero track the United States' progress in the development of aging-friendly communities. These include home modification and community-level innovations designed to lessen isolation and increase social interaction. Stephen Golant's article offers support for appropriate community alternatives for seniors, while suggesting that "aging in place" may be an inappropriate option for many elders due to flawed data about its actual appeal, financial barriers, and local policies promoting aging in place. Next, Kathryn Lawler and Cathie Berger explore the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)'s engagement in comprehensive planning and design activities to promote the idea that "place matters." Finally, Andrew Blechman profiles "The Villages," an age-restricted community in central Florida. He critiques this upscale option, noting that private ownership impinges on traditional public functions and that troublesome intergenerational and racial issues lurk in the background of such a community.

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Newsletter Editors: Dani Kaiserman, Sarah Frey, and Greg O'Neill, National Academy on an Aging Society; Andy Achenbaum, University of Houston.

The Public Policy and Aging E-Newsletter is supported in part by a grant from the AARP Office of Academic Affairs.