Conference on Aging Offers Recommendations to Support Baby Boomers

WASHINGTON–The 2005 White House Conference on Aging convened
last week to address long-term planning needs for the next decade
as the first wave of baby boomers approach retirement age.

The White House-sponsored conference, which meets once every 10
years, is charged with making recommendations to the president and
Congress on aging policies. Approximately 78 million baby boomers
will begin to turn 60 in January, a major concern to policy
planners.

Strengthening and improving both the Medicare and Medicaid
programs, along with promoting innovative models of
noninstitutional long-term care, are among the resolutions
presented at the conference. In remarks at the conference, CMS
Administrator Mark McClellan cited long-term care as a “critical
part of healthy long-term living.”

According to McClellan, “We are now in an era when it is
possible and often desirable for millions of seniors with long-term
care needs to age in place” in their homes. He added that Medicare
benefits emphasizing prevention, including the coverage of
prescription drugs, are expected to improve seniors’ lives.

Other resolutions presented at the conference include:

–reauthorizing the Older Americans Act within the first six
months following the 2005 conference;
–developing a coordinated, comprehensive long-term care strategy
by supporting public- and private-sector initiatives that address
financing, choice, quality, service delivery and the paid and
unpaid work force;
–ensuring that older Americans have transportation options to
retain their mobility and independence;
–supporting geriatric education and training for all health care
professionals, paraprofessionals, health profession students and
direct-care workers;
–improving recognition, assessment and treatment of mental illness
and depression among older Americans;
–attaining adequate numbers of health care personnel in all
professions who are skilled, culturally competent and specialized
in geriatrics; and
–improving state- and local-based integrated delivery systems to
meet 21st-century needs of seniors.

The final conference report will be given to the president and
Congress by June 2006. For more information, including a list of
the conference’s 50 resolutions, visit www.whcoa.gov.