National Council on Aging Offers 5 Ways Congress Can Help Seniors
The National Council on Aging identifies five ways that Congress — if it could get its act together — can help seniors in 2014:
- Restore funding and modernize aging services, beginning with revitalization of the Older Americans Act, once the central legislation for a national approach to basic safeguards;
- Protect low-income Medicare beneficiaries, by securing the viability of the Medicare Qualified Individual (QI) program, aimed at helping low income individuals (those with incomes between $13,700 and $15,300) take part in Medicare Part B, key to insurance coverage for doctor’s visits.
- Renew the Farm Bill, including the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) to help needy seniors obtain healthy food, a program that in the past has been important to as many as 4 million older adults, as well as younger persons facing food insecurity.
- Introduce long-term care legislation — that focuses on the very real needs for daily assistance (long term “services and supports”) , beyond “mere” health care.
- Pass immigration reform — necessary to provide the work force to cope with the predicted needs for care and assistance to aging boomers.
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