MATURE MARKET HEADLINES POSTED 01/19-23/98
Grandpa, Ma Bell Won't Let Me E-mail You
The status of long-distance, intergenerational relationships may be eroded if local phone companies get their way. Ma Bell wants the FCC to approve per minute phone charges for use of the Internet. That's spells catastrophe for long distance intergenerational relationships between grandparents and their grandkids, especially when those relationships are fostered and maintained over the Internet.
Only the families of those grandchildren capable of paying an inflated phone bill will have access to the bounty of Internet resources. Perhaps the only thing worse than a grandkid who can't e-mail his grandparent, is a grandparent who can no longer afford to e-mail the grandkids back.
And, there's another turn to this twist of fate. Wouldn't additional phone charges violate a young student's constitutional guarantee of "equal access" to education, which includes access to the educational resources and opportunities available via the Internet?
Only the wealthy families will have access. Wouldn't that transform the Internet's educational resources into a "separate and unequal" system. Even more troubling is the threat to the First Amendment. Any FCC approval of these additional phone charges for Internet use seems like a tax on free speech.
Here's the point. There's a lot at stake here. Let's hope Aging America's 30 million senior citizens understand what's at stake, and voice their concern one way or another. By the way, the FCC e-mail address for public comment on the phone company proposal is: isp@fcc.gov
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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New Venture Targets Elder Lung Patients
More than 30 million people suffering from respiratory diseases have a new resource to turn to with the formation of Geriatric Services of America (GSA), a Tempe, Arizona-based community service organization established to assist those with respiratory disease. "Respiratory diseases is the fourth largest killer of senior citizens, yet the disease can be managed effectively with proper medical care", says GSA CEO, Gary Rheault.
The new organization will focus on teaching those suffering from respiratory diseases how to properly use medicine to manage their disease in order to lead a more productive life. In addition to its counseling and educational efforts, GSA will serve as a third-party administrator working with 186 insurance carriers including Medicare, AARP, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield to manage GSA's respiratory disease control program.
These carriers contract with GSA, who in turn works with national pharmaceutical suppliers, home health agencies, and visiting nurses associations to coordinate the delivery of medications and health care services to the homes of respiratory patients. Patients who stay well, independent, and active run a lower risk of needing expensive health intervention such as crisis management or emergency care.
This win-win situation carries a cost-benefit for both the elderly patient and the insurance carrier. GSA has established a toll-free hotline for those who would like more information about its services: 1-800-279-1519.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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HCFA Healthcare Flip-flop is Risky Business
The U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is proposing to do away with a health care regulation requiring that a physician supervise anesthesia care for patient surgery. This proposed change would allow nurses with as little as two years' technical training to provide anesthesia to a Medicare or Medicaid hospital patient without any physician supervision.
38 million American seniors would be affected by the new regulation. Regulatory changes like these are often driven by the need to cut back spending. If that's so, then this new regulation doesn't make sense. Under existing Medicare rules, there is no difference in cost to the patient or the program whether a patient receives anesthesia care from a medically supervised or an unsurpervised nurse anesthetist.
In addition, sometimes the cost is less when medical supervision is exercised. As a case in point, a recent article in "The New England Journal of Medicine" (10/16/97) reports that when anesthesiologists direct the assessment and preparation of patients for surgery, requests for additional and costly presurgical consultations are reduced by 75%. "Anesthesiologists don't add to the cost of health care. They are an added value to health care," says Dr. William D. Owens, President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Makes you wonder what HCFA is thinking. Government DOES think every now and then, doesn't it? More ironical is the fact that the new regulation is an about-face for HCFA. As recently as 1992, HCFA stated that, "In consideration of the risks associated with anesthesia procedures, we believe it would not be appropriate to allow anesthesia administration by a nonphysician anesthetist unless under supervision by either an anesthesiologist or the operating practitioner." Looks like the 90's will be remembered as the flip-flop generation.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Australia's Pension Privatization Praised
As Congress faces the formidable task of trying to cure what ails our Social Security system, they should know that Australia's pension system may provide some answers. In 1986, Australia faced virtually the same crisis the United States does today ... a government pension system headed for bankruptcy and serious doubts about whether it could be salvaged.
That's when Australia replaced the government's tax-and-transfer old-age retirement scheme with a private retirement system based on mandatory savings. Economists, Daniel Mitchell and Robert O'Quinn (Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.) characterized Australia's move as a "win-win proposition". Workers get higher retirement incomes and the Australian economy benefits from increased savings.
Under the Australian system, workers contribute a set percentage of their income through their employer to private savings plans. By 2002, when the system is fully implemented, all workers will be required to set aside nine percent of their income. Finally, a safety-net program guarantees that all retirees will receive an income at least equal to the old government-run program.
See AgeVenture archives for related articles:
Pension Plan Works for Brits, Maybe Us Too
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Dysfunctional Syndrome Hinders Healthcare
As much as 40 percent of older people who are hospitalized will suffer from "dysfunctional syndrome", an overall decrease in their ability to function. It is caused by a combination of factors such as the patient's inability to get out of bed, decline in nutrition, and medication side-effects.
Especially vulnerable are geriatric patients who suffer from confusion. In order to combat further decline in overall health status, the Saint Louis University Hospital has developed the ACE (Acute Care for the Elderly) Unit because forty percent of the hospital's internal medicine patients are over age 70.
Within 24 hours of admission, an interdisciplinary team meets to determine the patient's unique social, financial, nutritional, and emotional needs. This process facilitates wellness, recovery, and discharge planning. One of the first of its kind in the U.S., the ACE unit's specialized care helps elders maintain their independence, preventing physical and mental decline while hospitalized.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Sports Therapists Give Athletes a Break
At the peak of ski season and ski injuries, physical therapists are coming to the rescue with a free, two-day sports injuries hotline February 13-14, 1998 from 9:00am to 5:00pm EST. The hotline is sponsored by the America Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Section on Sports Physical Therapy.
The toll-free number is 1-800-955-7848. In addition to questions about treating and preventing twisted knees and other winter sports injuries, physical therapists will tackle topics such as tennis elbow, strained backs, and sprained ankles related to sports and fitness activities.
Callers may receive free brochures on physical therapy topics such as knee injuries, back pain, neck pain, shoulder injuries, foot and ankle injuries, general fitness, and women's health.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Dr. David Demko, Editor
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