Obama on Entitlements; Fellowship Deadlines & More
IN THIS ISSUE: More Bangs for Where the Buck Stops (O-oh, That Michelle).
1. FISCAL REFORM SCHOOL: Obama’s Inaugural Draws Cautious Optimism
2. RESOURCES: ***American Indian/Native Alaskan Diabetes-Depression Link; ***Dr. Mark Beers Medication Guide on Elders
3. DEADLINES: ***National Press Foundation’s 9th Annual Retirement Issues Fellowships; ***Deadline for the Scripps Howard Awards is Jan. 31; ***The Sigma Delta Chi Awards’ Deadline is Feb. 7
4. GEN BEATLES NEWS: ***Play or Pay in Sen. Rockefeller’s Will; ***Healing Wishes to Jane Glenn Haas
5. THE BOOK BEAT: ***Bernard Starr’s New Book on Judaism; ***Ted Press’ Book Profiling 32 Prison Reformers
1. FISCAL REFORM SCHOOL
President Obama’s Inaugural Draws Cautious Optimism from Entitlement Advocates: Progressive policy experts and advocates for social insurance programs are expressing cautious optimism over President Obama’s sharp defense of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on Monday in his second inaugural address. At least the usually critical cyber-chatter from the left has been muffled at this point.
Still, with the congressional Republicans deciding this week to give themselves more headroom for later debt-ceiling negations by offering the Democrats a temporary fix-90 days–many expect them to be regrouping for future skirmishes over entitlements. For instance, Wednesday’s New York Times reports that among many other issues, “… the three-month delay on the government’s statutory borrowing limit set for a vote on Wednesday is likely to produce a fight this spring over changes to Medicare, even for those nearing retirement.”
The article, by Jonathan Weisman, explains that House Republicans aim to produce a budget that would balance in 10 years, “a heavy lift, considering that the past two budgets passed by the House did not get to balance for nearly 30 years.” To do that, the GOP would change Medicare – which previously would have affected only those age 55 or younger “to hit people 7 years from eligibility, producing more savings.” That would affect those age 58 if passed, 7 years earlier than Medicare eligibility at 65.
David Nather, a senior policy reporter at POLITICO Pro, reported Monday, “President Barack Obama drew a hard line once again Monday against entitlement cuts that could change the basic structure of programs like Medicare or Social Security . . . It wasn’t a new message, but by reinforcing it in his inaugural address, Obama doubled down on the boundaries he has drawn in his fight with Republicans over the next stages of deficit reduction. ”
As The Hill, a Capitol political daily, noted, “‘Medicare and Social Security “do not sap our nation, they make us stronger,'” Obama said Monday . . . . Obama’s opening shot on entitlements comes just as Congress is gearing up for another round in its perpetual fight over federal spending. Republicans have said they’ll push for entitlement reforms in negotiations over either the debt ceiling or a bill to fund the federal government.
Here is President Obama’s inaugural shot over the GOP’s entitlement bow:
“We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.
“We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.”
Read the full transcript of the President’s Second Inaugural address, or view it on YouTube.
2. RESOURCES
AMERICAN INDIAN/NATIVE ALASKAN DIABETES-DEPRESSION
***A New Issue Brief on the Diabetes-Depression Link for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) elders was just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prepared for CDC by the International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA2), the backgrounder is posted on CDC’s Healthy Aging Program website.
Titled “Diabetes and Depression Among American Indian and Alaska Native Elders,” is the paper is loaded with facts and best-practice model programs around the United States that journalists could contact for interviews with experts and, in some case, elders involved with them.
Dave Baldridge, executive director of the nonprofit IA2, conducted extensive interviews with top experts about what he calls the “vicious cycle” of diabetes and depression. The rates of co-occurring diabetes and depression among AI/AN seniors are so high, says the brief, and the potential impact so profound that CDC and the Indian Health Service (IHS) are developing new models for health care providers to treat all individuals with diabetes and depression.
According to the issue brief, written by veteran journalist Nancy Aldrich, in AI/AN communities diabetes is twice as common as in the general population (15.3 percent compared with 7.3 percent), and it is steadily increasing. About 30 percent of AI/ANs older than age 55 have diagnosed diabetes. AI/ANs are 2.8 times as likely to die from diabetes as individuals in the general U.S. population. In 2009, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, but the fourth leading cause of death among AI/ANs.
Yet, depression in diabetes patients often remains undiagnosed or is poorly integrated into diabetes care plans. The brief notes that, according to CDC behavioral health scientist Michelle Owens-Gary, Ph.D., only 30 percent of individuals in the U.S. with both conditions receive adequate treatment for depression. The brief quotes her: “Fewer than 20 percent of patients with diabetes and depression complete more than four visits of psychotherapy, yet 80 percent of those who seek treatment show improvement.”
The diabetes/depression brief is the fourth in a series on American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) topics impacting Indian elders. Other issue briefs prepared by IA2 such as “Caregiving in Indian Country: Tribes Support Family Traditions” are also posted online at http://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/briefs.htm.
***Geriatric Toast for Mark Beers: GBO’s good friends at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) released the updated version of the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medications in the Elderly. Although mainly written for medical professionals, the guide offers reporters many examples of use in reporting on this concern. Adverse drug reactions are a key issue in the mismanagement (and unnecessarily high cost) of care for elders.
That noted, GBO did lift a brow at the AGS announcement about the Beers Criteria, which described it as “a report named for the late Mark Beers, M.D. (and not the malted beverage) who began this important work in 1991. ” Mark Beers was a wonderful man and dedicated professional, who left us far too early. But GBO would offer the editorial suggestion-with a toast to Dr. Beers-that the appropriate committee at AGS reconsider the name. For instance, simply tagging “Criteria for …” with “developed by Mark Beers, MD,” would obviate the parenthetically explanatory and oddly amusing brew.
3. DEADLINES
***The National Press Foundation’s 9th Annual Retirement Issues Fellowships: The application deadline is Feb. 11, 5 p.m. Eastern, at the latest, to apply for NPFs all-expenses-paid trip to Washington this spring. NFP will select 15 journalists this year to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the four-day program in the nation’s capital.
The seminar, to be held April 7-10 in DC, will cover such issues as the future of Social Security, health and long-term care, retirement obstacles for people of color, challenges for older workers and more. So far they have a great lineup of speakers, among them Diane Oakley, Executive Director, National Institute on Retirement Security; Dallas Salisbury, President and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute; Mary Beth Franklin, Contributing Editor, Crain’s Investment News; and Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration.
Those eligible include U.S.-based business, consumer and lifestyle writers and editors, as well as editorial writers. NPF will award 15 spots to qualified journalists working in any platform. The program is being Underwritten by Prudential Financial and the NPF Programs Fund. (NPF’s website shows its corporate donation guidelines, including its policy of strict non-involvement for donors in any aspect of the program planning or content.)
For further information and the online application form, visit the NPF website. Or contact Linda Streitfeld, NPF Director of Programs (programs@nationalpress.org); 202-663-7283.
***Deadline for the Scripps Howard Awards is Jan. 31:This is a big one with 18 categories and a total of $175,000 in prize money. (The entry fee is $50 per category with the exception of three categories that are offered at no charge.) Among the categories are breaking news, commentary, business/economics reporting, environmental reporting, investigative and human-interest storytelling. New this year is a spot for digital innovation. Most categories recognize excellence across the multiple platforms of print, broadcast and online media. for more information about the competition, contact Sue Porter, vice president/programs, Scripps Howard Foundation, at 1-800-888-3000 ext. 3030; 513-977-3030; or sue.porter@scripps.com. For information and to apply go to the Scripps Howard Foundation website.
***The Sigma Delta Chi Awards’ Deadline is Feb. 7:
This is the national awards program of the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ), and the awards date back to 1932.They recognize the best in professional journalism in covering print, radio, television, newsletters, art/graphics, online and research, and are open to any U.S. media outlet for entries published or broadcast during 2012. (If not originally published or broadcast in English, entries must include an English transcript or English subtitles. The per-entry fee is $60 for SPJ members and $100 for nonmembers. For complete information, go to the awards website.
4. GEN BEATLES NEWS
***GBO Can’t Help But Note the Passing of a Congressional Era with the decision of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., not to run for a sixth term in 2014. This Democratic sheep of the family (great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the Warren Buffet of his day) has been a stalwart of congressional committees on aging and, especially, health care reform. In fact, he’s been the cofounder and perennial honorary co-chair (always with a Republican), of the Alliance for Health Reform.
I’ll repeat a story I’ve told here in the past, but it’s one of my favorite moments in the recent history of journalism on health care reform. It was 1993, and Bill and Hill Clinton had assured everyone they would rescue the nation from its dysfunctional health care system. But how, and on what plan? Only a few years old then, the Alliance, a noble effort at securing bipartisan dialogue, held a series of meetings around the country including roundtables on the issue with reporters.
Here in San Francisco, I found myself sitting with a dozen or so other reporters to hear an honorably neutral presentation of various primary proposals afloat in Washington. Sen. Rockefeller presided over the briefing, staffed by the ever-capable Ed Howard. The senator assured the group that he would refrain from using the opportunity to promote his favored shade of change. That approach involved a combination of public subsidies and, in order to ensure as large an insurance pool as possible, a requirement that all employers have a choice of providing health coverage or paying a tax into a public program. The left, of course, wanted the Clintons to propose a single-payer plan, such as Canada’s. But, led initially by Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., a centrist bipartisan group advanced this compromise idea.
If the word “mandate” comes to mind, close but no stethoscope. The phrase of the day was — “Play or Pay.” Employers could play (insure their workers) or pay a tax to finance coverage. There was certainly more to the scheme, but Play or Pay was the private-market expansion that its supporters believe would cover most Americans in a politically viable scheme.
So there we were, lunching on our sandwiches and taking notes on the pros and cons of this plan or that, until it came around to Play or Pay. With that, Rockefeller allowed in all honesty that this one was his personal preference, although for the sake of better public understanding of the options at hand, he would refrain from displays of excessive enthusiasm for it. Except that-except that-he took a moment to express his regret at the off-putting awkwardness of the term.
And then he made an offer that stopped jaws from munching and set pens to scratching. The senator said, “If any of you can come up with a better term than Play or Pay, I’ll . . . I’ll . . . remember you in my will.”
Now, mind you, there was an instantaneous and obvious recognition in that room that we were not listening to Sen. Kerrey, or Sen. Mitchell or just any Sen. Blovius. This was Sen. Rockefeller. Remembered in his will? Hardly likely. But still (jot, jot, scratch, scratch)-Drat! “I know it’s there on the tip of my brain,” said the long silence in the room. It’s, it’s – no – er – Drat!!
Well, Senator, have a long and happy retirement.
***Warmest GBO Wishes to Jane Glenn Haas, who has been hospitalized with a stroke in Newport Beach, Calif.. Haas, the maven and straight-talking sage of the Journalists Network on Generations, has long covered issues in aging for the Orange County Register, including her current syndicated column for them. And she is also the founder of the nonprofit WomanSage, helping to redefine later life for women in midlife and older. GBO will let readers know how she’s doing as we get the news.
5. THE BOOK BEAT
The Versatility of Gen Beat Journalists is evident in two new ageless books by veteran writers on issues in aging.
***Huffington Post blogger and geropsychologist Bernard Starr, PhD., just released the provocatively titled Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew. It’s available as an e-book for Kindle at Amazon.com, and for other e-book formats at Smashwords.
Starr, who has published books with both academic and mainstream trade-book publishers, has become a cheerleader for electronic self-publishing in the last couple of years and has posted very informative essays on the what and how of self-publication in today’s post-vanity-press environment.
Starr has also advocated within the American Psychological Association in recent years for APA to recognize the legitimacy of spiritual moorings for many older patients as a reasonable avenue for exploring how elders may be dealing with emotional distress. That, of course, in modern psychology, is an idea that was met by APA as one might raise garlic to a vampire. Starr and colleagues weren’t championing religion as such, but recommending its role in the lives of many as being as import in therapeutic discussions as, say, one’s sexual experience or smoking of cigars. (Ja, Herr Doktor Freud, perhaps sometimes one’s religion is just one’s religion is worth considering on its own terms.)
Anyhow, the blur on Starr’s new book is that is aims to “change readers’ understanding of Jesus, Judaism and Christianity.”
***Prison Reform Catalysts is the Seventh Tome by Ted W. Fuller, former columnist on aging for Northern California’s Contra Costa Times. To be published in February, the book profiles of 21 men and 16 women who helped bring about significant change in incarceration.
Fuller notes, “Politics, prison overcrowding, graft, and indifference oftentimes nullified or reduced changes in the past, but today’s recidivism rates of as much as 70 percent indicate that reform efforts will continue.
His lineup ranges from the 18th century Italian, Cesare Beccaria, who, at 26, wrote On Crimes and Punishments, regarded as one of the first arguments against the death penalty, to Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking. Among other contemporary reformers is Sunny Schwartz, a San Francisco County jail program director, who introduced RSVP (Resolve to Stop Violence Project), an award-winning group dynamics program that reduced recidivism. And going back to the 1920s, Fuller profiles Robert Burns, whose writing about life on a Georgia chain gang was the basis of the Warner Brothers film, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.
A resident of Lafayette, Calif., Fuller earned a California Historical Society award for one of his books and also is a former McGraw-Hill Publishing Company magazine editor. Prison Reform Catalystsis published by Pleasant Hill Press (Fuller’s imprint). Review copies should be available in about three weeks. Contact tedpress@aol.com; phone: (925) 962-0268.
It will be out on Feb. 1, Fuller reported, “the same day I celebrate my 85th birthday. Which gives credence to the comment: “You can’t turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again.”