Why CLASS? It’s a Matter of Luck and Long-Term Care.

Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee hosted a hearing on the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, a voluntary long-term care insurance program designed to help today's workers afford home and community-based long-term care. St. Patrick's Day seems a fitting time for such a hearing given that much of long-term care comes down to luck for Americans and their families.

The luckiest among us will never suffer a catastrophic health event or accident that leads one to need assistance, with grocery shopping, transportation, bathing, toileting or the like, to stay at home. The luckiest will not manage multiple health conditions in old age causing limited mobility and access to the community. Those less lucky may have some long-term care needs, but will have the resources needed to cover the cost of that care and will access what's available through the private market. WOW's Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) measures what it costs to afford such services, ranging from 6 to 36 hours of home-based services per week in a given state. For instance, in Minnesota, the Elder Index demonstrates that home and community-based long-term care costs from $7,000 to $46,000 per year depending on the level of care required.

Perhaps Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) described it best when, at today's hearing, he said that CLASS would "serve a terrifying unmet need..." Today, 10 million Americans need long-term care services and supports, with 15 million expected to need care by the year 2020. The reality is that most of today's workers and families cannot afford the staggering cost of long-term care. The CLASS program was designed to buffer these costs through a voluntary payroll tax - one that will require no use of federal tax dollars. Further, the CLASS benefit is projected to reduce the federal deficit by $86 billion over the next ten years and save federal and state Medicaid costs.

We need to keep CLASS, both to address the growing long-term care crisis and as a matter of cost savings. More importantly, we need to ensure workers and employers are educated on the program and take advantage of this innovative option. More enrollees will help the program remain affordable for working Americans and fiscally strong over the long term. Ensuring access to affordable long-term care is fundamental to building economic security for persons with disabilities and elders.

Sadly, we will not all be among the luckiest, and so we all have a stake in safeguarding CLASS.

For more on the CLASS program, visit Advance CLASS.

Because We're Stronger Together

Last week, I attended a briefing hosted by Generations United (GU) and co-sponsored by WOW on why Social Security is a crucial program for Americans of all ages. Since it is generally referred to as a program for retirees, its purpose of building economic security for other groups, such as children and widows, is sometimes overlooked. However, according to GU, cuts to Social Security would harm 6.5 million children.

What made the briefing so powerful were the personal stories shared by Social Security beneficiaries. Rep. Jan Schakowky (D-IL) shared how Social Security helped her son and his family get by after her daughter-in-law passed away. Morrisella Middleton, now a grandmother, discussed how Social Security was there for her mother decades ago when her father suddenly passed away. Furthermore, Social Security continues to be there for Morisella now as she raises two grandchildren on her own, since her daughter is no longer alive. I encourage you to check out GU’s report, “Social Security: What’s at Stake for Children, Youth, and Grandfamilies.”  The report features the stories of both these women and numerous other Americans.

The fight to strengthen Social Security is more than just an elder advocate fight. Though the majority of beneficiaries are retirees, to solely focus on this group would forego the important opportunity of a intergenerational effort for adequate Social Security benefits that allow so many to make ends meet. A united front is hard to ignore – because, in fact, we are stronger together.

Alisha Howell

Communications & Program Coordinator

Elder Economic Security Initiative

Valuable Employment Service for Seniors Under Attack

What would you do if you couldn’t make ends meet in retirement? Like many Americans, you’d probably return to the workforce. But what if you needed help finding a job? Where would you turn? Thankfully, the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is there to help seniors in need by providing valuable training to help them gain employment.

As we know from the Elder Index, it takes about $20,326 for an elder renter to make ends meet in retirement. If a senior cannot make ends meet, he or she may choose to go back to work if they are able. SCSEP helps low-income seniors by providing immediate employment. The participants earn minimum wage while providing much needed services in their communities.

Unfortunately, like many public assistance programs, SCSEP is under attack in the federal budget debate.

Although it has historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support, the House budget reduces SCSEP funding from $825 million to $300 million. This creates a crisis for tens of thousands of seniors, many of whom are in their 70s, 80s and 90s. As shown by a recent survey of SCSEP participants done by Experience Works, participants rely on SCSEP to make ends meet:

• Nearly half (46%) of SCSEP participants say they sometimes have to choose between paying rent, purchasing food or purchasing medications.
• Half (50 %) need to keep working so they don’t lose their homes or apartments.
• 43 % are looking for work now because they were laid off from their previous positions.
• 64 % have been looking for work one year or longer.  

Help stop cuts to valuable programs for low-income seniors and their families. Send a letter to your representatives today to voice your concern for the federal budget cuts. We must show Congress how much these programs and services help low and middle-income families make ends meet.

Maggie Flowers

Field Manager

Elder Economic Security Initiative

An Advocate’s View: How Budget Cuts to Domestic Programs Hurt an Elder’s Economic Security

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking to Christopher Smith, a volunteer attorney at the Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services in Detroit, Michigan. Christopher works to ensure elders are enrolled in programs and services that help them build economic security. However, those programs and services are now being threatened by budget cuts proposed in the House bill passed last Saturday. One of these crucial programs is the Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which provides funds for those struggling to pay their bills to heat their homes during the winter and cool their homes in the summer.

The House passed a bill on Saturday that would cut LIHEAP funding by 66% for the remainder of the fiscal year. Christopher cautioned that less funding would result in people making impossible choices on whether to eat or heat, and also lead desperate Detroit residents to try dangerous and unconventional ways to heat their homes such as starting a fire that could get out of control. In fact, he shared that this happened a couple times already in the last few weeks. “Realistically, a LIHEAP subsidy costs far less than dispatching the fire department,” he said.

As the Senate gears up next week to debate the federal budget, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) urges you to join advocates across the country in sending a letter to Congress on the importance of crucial programs and services to millions of American families and elders as they rebuild from one of the worst economic recession's of our time.

Now is the time to take action. We encourage you to send your letter today, and include your story of how cuts will affect your community. We must show Congress how much these programs and services help low and middle-income families make ends meet.

Alisha Howell

Communications & Program Coordinator

Elder Economic Security Initiative

WOW Offers Encore Webinar on Effective Advocacy in an Economic Downturn

This week, WOW hosted the first of two webinars focused on advocating effectively in tough budget times. Our panelists discussed proposed federal budget cuts by the Administration and Congress and effective ways to communicate with legislators to avoid cuts to services and programs that mean the most to you and your constituents. Due to popular response, we are hosting an encore webinar next Thursday, February 17 at 3 p.m. ET. Register today as there are limited spots available. 

We also wanted to take the time to remind you of our social media accounts and introduce our newest platform, Tumblr. The Elder Initiative is now using Tumblr for our online advocacy purposes in addition to Facebook and Twitter. 

•  Check out the Elder Initiative’s Tumblr page @  wowonline.tumblr.com/

•  Become a WOW Facebook Fan

•  Follow WOW on Twitter @WOWOnlineWOW

Alisha Howell
Communications & Program Coordinator

We Need to Measure Economic Security, Not Poverty

The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), an alternative calculation of the federal poverty level recently developed by the US Census Bureau, estimates that 16% of seniors live in poverty. Although the new measure incorporates other costs, such as out-of-pocket medical expenses, it is still a measure that looks at economic deprivation, rather than economic security – the true cost of being able to make ends meet, and for elders, to age in place with dignity.

The SPM is a step in the right direction in that it acknowledges that the current system of measuring poverty is outdated. Based on food costs alone, the current federal poverty level does not incorporate geographic variability in costs of living. As an example, most recognize that it costs more for a senior in New York City to make ends meet than for one in Charleston, West Virginia. The SPM is a more accurate than the current federal poverty level since it does include a geographic variability component.

However, the Supplemental Poverty Measure does not measure economic security: “Now is the time to move past simply measuring what it means to be deprived to what it means to be secure,” WOW’s Executive Director Joan Kuriansky stated. This requires a more comprehensive measure.

Wider Opportunities for Women uses the Elder Index to look at specific costs for elders: housing, transportation, food, health care costs and miscellaneous expenses. The tool is used at the local level to look at the true costs of living and what it takes elders to be economically secure within their community. Furthermore, it can serve as a planning tool to help future retirees gauge what is needed to age in place in their community of choice.

Your Health is in Your Hands

Last week, I attended a briefing  co-sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and AARP entitled “Boomers Come of Age: Covering Early Retirees and Other 50-64 Year-olds. The briefing stressed the importance of planning for economic security in retirement. AARP’s John Rother noted that adults ages 47-65 are lacking economic security due to the loss of jobs and health insurance coverage. If this is the challenge for Americans in their 50s and 60s, then how much more of a challenge will this be for Americans over 65? 

As we know from the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), health care costs significantly affect an elder’s overall budget. The Elder Index demonstrates that health care expenses, despite access to Medicare and with or without additional long-term care needs, can be significant. As shown below, these costs can be overly burdensome for elders living on a fixed income, such as those living on Social Security payments alone. In many cases, elders go without supplemental coverage to Medicare, and thus without vital health care services, due to the high cost of premiums and co-pays according to WOW’s Economic Security & Health Care Reform Resource Guide.  

Casey Lovoy

Elder Economic Security Initiative Intern