MATURE MARKET HEADLINES POSTED 07/14/97
Wall Street Paves Path to Privatization
Wall Street has been playing both ends against the middle on the issue of privatizing the Social Security system, according to the July/August issue of Secure Retirement. Investment and financial planning agencies have been publicly denouncing the privatization of America's Social Security system, while discretely funding efforts to encourage privatization.
In her article, "The Money Pit", Trudi Davis explains that the Investment Community has the most to gain by the privatization because of the billions in fees brokerage firms stand to get. Funny thing is, privatization makes sense. If anything, it keeps the federal government from using the trust fund as a piggy bank to cover over-spending.
I guess the Investment Community believes that any overt support of privatization would appear to be a conflict of interest because of the financial windfall it will bring to Wall Street. On the other hand, brokers may want to distance themselves from any losses that pensioners might experience under a new privatization effort. Afterall, as the saying goes, "What goes up, must come down". And t
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Top 20 Retirement Communities
New Choices magazine thinks its sixth annual survey of retirement communities has identified America's Best, or at least the top 20. Selections all boast state-of-the-art facilities, beautiful settings, and the best value for your money. In order to qualify, the retirement community must welcome newcomers of all races and religions. The 20 communities are located in 14 different states. Here's the list, identified by nearest major city.
- ARIZONA
Green Valley (Tucson), Sun City Grand (Phoenix), Saddlebrook (Greater Phoenix).
- CALIFORNIA
Sun City Palm Desert (Palm Springs), Sun City Roseville (Sacramento).
- COLORADO
Battlement Mesa (Aspen).
- FLORIDA
Century Village at Pembroke Pines (Ft. Lauderdale), Heritage Golf & Country Club (Naples), Villages of Highlands Ridge (Sebring).
- ILLINOIS
Cambridge at Carillon (Chicago).
- MASSACHUSETTS
Villages at Great Hill (Boston).
- NEVADA
Sun City Summerlin (Las Vegas).
- NEW JERSEY
Hovnanian's Four Seasons (Lakewood).
- NEW YORK
Heritage Hills of Westchester (New York City).
- NORTH CAROLINA
Carolina Trace Country Club (Raleigh), St. James Plantation (Wilmington).
- SOUTH CAROLINA
Callawassie Island (Beaufort).
- TEXAS
Sun City Georgetown (Austin).
- VIRGINIA
Ford's Colony (Williamsburg).
- WASHINGTON
Port Ludlow (Seattle).
If you're interested enough to have read down the entire list, then you're likely to be a details-oriented person. That's good. So here's another important detail. Make sure that the community is operated by a management company experienced in the retirement industry. And, more importantly, make sure that the management experience is in the same level of care provided by the current community, i.e. rental, assisted living, continued care, life care.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Your Good Deed Could Be Worth $2,000
Sandoz Nutrition, makers of the nutritional health beverage ReSource, have committed themselves to recognizing the selfless efforts of the 25 million volunteer and family-member caregivers by accepting nominations for "Resource's Caregiver of the Year Award". The Caregivers of the Year will be honored at an event hosted by Angela Lansbury and ReSource.
To nominate a caregiver, you can submit a 250-word or less essay describing his or her quality of caregiving and why the caregiver deserves the award. Specify if the caregiver provides professional, volunteer, or family-member caregiving. Include your name and the nominee's name, address, and phone number and photographs with their attendees (photos are optional).
Mail the nomination to: Caregiver of the Year, P.O. Box 11172, Chicago, IL 60611 (postmarked by September 5, 1997). Three winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to a fall awards ceremony, $2,000 cash and an opportunity to donate $10,000 of ReSource to their favorite charity. Winners will be notified by October 15, 1997.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Getting the Most from Your Medicines
Modern prescription medicines can help people lead longer, healthier, and productive lives ... if the medicines are used properly. But studies have shown that up to half of all prescription drugs are not taken correctly.
That leads to emergency room visits, hospitalizations, death, and added health care costs. In fact, figures I've seen have set the rate of avoidable hospitalizations due to adverse reactions to medications at 250,000 hospitalizations at a tax-payer cost of $4 billion annually.
A new booklet, "Getting the Most from Your Medicines", published by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, aims to make people aware of the problem and what they can do to make their medicines work better for them.
This free publication is available by writing to America's Pharmaceutical Companies, Box P, 1100 15th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005. According to the booklet, here's what patients should do.
- Ask questions of your doctor and pharmacist so you understand how to take your medicines.
- Take medicine dosages as prescribed.
- Report any side effects or reactions immediately to your physician.
- Discard all outdated medicines.
- Never share medicines.
- Ask your pharmacist about ways to keep track of your medicines.
- Read the labels on all non-prescriptions drugs carefully.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Study Examines Health Outcomes for Seniors
The Prudential Center for Health Care Researdh has launched a study to examine whether screening for high risk characteristics and case management interventions can reduce the incidence of hospitalization in the senior population.
The Center's case management model will focus on early identification and intervention of acute illness with an emphasis on outpatient health care services to support the high risk patient in an effort to improve quality care while generating cost savings. The nurse case manager will work with a coordinated health care team including the primary care physician to develop a flexible, customized program for the patient.
The study uses a screening instrument, developed by the University of Minnesota, to identify older people with health problems that put them at high risk for hospitalization. Source: Laszlo Aranyos, Media Relations Inc.
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Boomers Cheaper Than Seniors
Forget about those images of coupon-clipping grannies, it's the baby boomers who are the real "penney-pinchers". So says the July/August issue of New Choices magazine. "People in the 55-64 age group have the highest average discretionary income per household member, as well as most of the nation's wealth."
The Center for Mature Studies at Georgia State University (GSU) says, "There's a misconception that older people are thrifty". (These people obviously never met my grandmother). In some of GSU's studies, "baby boomers were twice as bargain-conscious as the over-70s".
Welcome to the world. That's because boomers pay full-freight at the movies, restaurants, etc. Seems to me that thrifty-ness (hey, is that a word) is more a function of economics than age. The stereotypes of penney-pinching seniors are, in many cases, based on reality.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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