Thank
you Hank for that wonderful introduction.I am so pleased and honored to be here to address you at your 27th
annual convention.
As
many of you may know, prior to coming to Sacramento,
my background was primarily in the field of aging.
As the founding Executive Director of the Area Agency on Aging
serving Humboldt and Del Norte Counties for almost 20 years, I have
spent a great deal of my professional career intimately involved with
the issues of aging and the older population.As such, I believe I am the first legislator to bring such an
extensive background in this specialized area, to the Capitol.
I
am honored to be named the new Chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging
and Long Term Care.As you
can imagine, I have many important goals for this Committee, not the
least of which is to bring this Committee off the back shelf and into
the light so that the issues the Aging & Long Term Care Committee
grapples with are given the attention they need and deserve.And the jurisdiction of the Committee is expanded so that we are
truly dealing with legislation impacting the senior population,
including long-term care issues.
One
only needs to look at the demographics of our aging population to see
the true urgency here.The
Baby Boomer generation is going to create an influx into the senior
population the likes of which we’ve never seen before.We simply must be ready for the demand this will put on all our
systems.
I
have developed a Master plan for the Aging and Long Term Care Committee
that consists of goals and timelines for three working groups.
The
Strategic Plan Advisory Committee is the first of these three
committees.It will set
forth guiding principles and key questions to be answered in response to
the Strategic Plan For an Aging California Population, in compliance with
SB 910 (Vasconcellos).In
addition, it will help guide policy makers, elected officials and others
in their efforts to create a comprehensive system of community based
care for the coming aging baby boomer generation.
These
guiding principles and key questions will guide the course of the two
other Committees.Those
committees consist of:
1)An Expert Panel
to Review the California Department ofAging and recommend an organizational structure for the Department
that will best serve older Californians both now and in the future.And
2)The Committee to
Advance an Aging Agenda for the 21st Century.Which will establish legislative priorities, timelines and
strategic grassroots implementation steps to move an aging agenda
forward.The efforts of
these three committees will culminate in a product that can be used to
shape aging policy across California and the nation to
comprehensively plan for aging baby boomers.At the state level, these efforts could result in a rewrite of
the OCA and could also serve as a basis for California’s platform for the White
House Conference on Aging.
Again, no discussion of
the urgency and importance of the Aging and Long Term Committee can be
had without including a review of the demographics of the aging
population.Baby
boomers represent the 76 million people born in the United States from 1946 to 1964.They are the largest birth cohort ever born in the United States and represent 31% of the
population.In 2006, Aging
Baby Boomers will begin turning 60.By the year 2030, all surviving baby boomers will be between the
ages of 66 and 84, representing one out of five Americans.Nine out of ten baby boomers will be retired by the year 2030.
California’s aging population is
expected to increase by 172% by the year 2040 with most of the growth
occurring in the coming 20 years.The greatest growth will
be among the oldest Californians, those age 85 and older, whose numbers
are projected to grow 200% over the next 40-year period.By 2040, the ratio of the elderly to adults under 65 will have
increased by 80%.
Also
by the year 2040, nearly 14 million Americans will need some form of
long term care assistance, including about 10 million who will need home
and community based care.
Aging
baby boomers will impact every area of policy development.Most of the major aging policy issues that need to be addressed
are interrelated.Policymakers
and planners can no longer continue to view and address specific topics
and concerns independently.
California is the nation’s largest
state with an extremely diverse landscape.I represent the 1st Assembly District -- 6 Counties --
which are in Northern California and largely rural.Access to quality affordable healthcare is already a major issue
for us as it is in many other sparsely populated regions of our state.When we add to that the increased percentage of elderly
Californians, we are increasing the demand on an already over stressed
system.As a result, the
delivery of health care becomes an even more complex issue.
There
is a clear need for comprehensive long term planning as it relates to
the increase in the elder population created by the baby boomer
generation.If ever there
was a time for the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long Term Care to
evolve into a Committee with greater jurisdiction and ability to
influence and produce effective legislation, it is certainly now.
·Policymakers will
also need to redefine who is "old" and re-conceptualize, if
you will, aging services.The
very definition of "old" is apt to change in the coming years.To this end, chronological age will not necessarily be the
determining factor in when one isconsidered "old" and will be questioned as the
criterion for public program eligibility.
The
good news is that those who will be age 65 and over in the next 20 to 30
years will be more mobile and healthier.There is, however, a down side – and that is that large numbers
of older adults will continue to be poor, chronically ill, isolated, and
in need of public services.
In
addition to redefining aging, policymakers need to account for the
diversity of needs and expectations among future groups of older people
in order to use state resources wisely and plan effectively.
The
initial work of the Strategic Plan Advisory Committee has identified 11
“emerging trends” that must be considered when planning for the
future.
1)Health Care
– As we live longer, health care will become even more of an issue
than it already is.Diseases
such as Alzheimer’s, shingles, and diabetes will increase.Pharmaceuticals will be in greater demand as will end of life
care and palliative care.
2)Housing
– Many people over the age of 65 are in need of affordable housing,
especially those with low incomes who live alone – many of whom are
women and minority group members.
3)
Transportation & Mobility – Mobility is critical to the
well-being of California’s elderly.Older Californians are the most automobile dependent group in our
society, making well over 90% of all their trips in automobiles. Given
that transportation needs are directly interrelated to land-use
planning, policymakers
will be forced to develop alternative transportation services, driver
safety education, "walkable" communities, and better access to
public transportation.
4Employment,
Finance, and Retirement
– Many older
Californians continue to work, either by choice or due to economic need.In today's economy, employees
are less likely to receive retirement pensions and health insurance
plans.As
the perception of "aging" changes, it will be important for
policymakers to develop alternative arrangements to accommodate older
workers in the workplace.
5)
Involvement – Aging
Boomers will seek ways to increase volunteerism at all life stages, as a
way to stay productive and connected to society.This is a win/win situation in that it creates a vast knowledge
and experience base from which to draw.However, older Californians will
need
a social model through which to optimize their continued involvement.
6)
Wellness – Considerable numbers of older adults are continuing
to enjoy relatively high levels of physical and cognitive functioning
and remain actively engaged in various life pursuits well into their
70s, 80s, and even 90s. Policymakers will need to consider ways to
invest in disease prevention as a way to promote wellness in our older
population.
7)
Trained Workforce – The
aging of California will
increase the demand for professionals with knowledge of and expertise in
the human aging process.In
fact, there are only
approximately 890 physicians who are board certified geriatricians in
California, or one geriatrician per 4,000 Californians 65 years of age
or older.Policymakers will
need to develop policies to recruit and train our professionals and
paraprofessionals to care for the aging population and continue to
retain, retrain and use the existing paraprofessional and professional
workers as they age.
8)
Caregiving – Aging Baby Boomers are changing the
characteristics of the typical family unit; this will likely impact the
needs and characteristics of caregiving.Therefore, policymakers will need to develop systems that respond
to the changing needs of caregivers.
9)
Long-Term Support – Aging
Baby Boomers will prefer to receive their care at home and in the
community.This will
necessitate policies and funding streams that promote non-institutional
caregiving and creative community based long-term support arrangements.
10)
Financial Abuse – Policymakers will need to decrease Aging Baby
Boomers' susceptibility to scams and neglect and develop methods to
prevent, prosecute, and punish those who commit these heinous crimes.And
11)
Changing the Culture of Aging – In
order to promote wellness and inclusion of Aging Baby Boomers in
society, it will be important to change the way aging is perceived, and
to popularize more realistic images of what it means to be
"old" – to expect positive experiences in later life.Policymakers will need to consider how to provide Aging Baby
Boomers with genuine choices about how they age.
Aging
policy cuts across many policy areas, and has developedf into an
arrangement of fragmented services and multiple funding streams with no
national or
state unifying
force to direct and coordinate a “systems approach.”
The
Federal Older Americans Act of 1965 was intended to be a unifying force
for national aging policy.However,
portions of the Act have never been implemented.Many policymakers have ignored the impending aging of our
population, focusing too much on dealing with the crisis of the moment,
rather than following through with visionary planning.
Change,
which is most clearly needed, will require systems thinking, leadership,
political will and courage.
There
is an urgency to create a network that will better serve the vastly
growing numbers of older Californians so that the Golden Years may
actually be golden.
To
accomplish these goals, the Committee on Aging and Long Term Care must
be one that participates as a major player in the line up of Assembly
Committees so that the goals I’ve talked about can actually come to
fruition and make a difference in people’s lives.
I’m going to need your help.You’ve
been active and visible advocates on behalf of the aging population.Bill Powers and Gary Passmore have continued to represent you
well.And now I’m going to
need all of you if we are truly going to make a difference that will be
heard throughout our great state.
I
look forward to working with you all toward that end.
Thank
you for inviting me to speak with you today.
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