I was away on vacation last week so now it is time to catch up on important news of interesting events in July. On Monday, the White House Conference on Aging will be held in Washington. This conference has traditionally been held every ten years and has led to important recommendations regarding aging policy in the United States. The four primary areas of policy which this conference is addressing are: healthy aging, retirement security, elder justice, and long term care supports. President Obama is scheduled to address the conference which will be held from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The conference will be streamed over the internet and you can watch it at the website whitehouseconferenceforaging.gov. Click this link to read some other important information about watching the event
Usually each state sends delegates to the conference but this event has been conducted differently. A number of regional listening sessions were held in the spring and the opportunity to interact with written comments on the website was also offered. However, some senior advocates have complained about abandoning the process for states to send delegates.
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This is a summer of anniversary celebrations. The White Conference on Aging will occur at the same time as the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Older Americans Act, the legislation that really established the aging network and led to the development of area agencies on aging in most counties across the country to provide community services for older persons. Of course, later this month we will mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A special anniversary event will be held in the Albany area on Thursday, July 30 with famed folksinger Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary presenting a concert at the Cohoes Music Hall during the celebration from 12:00 noon to 2:30. Other events are being held around the state. I will be speaking on the Medicare anniversary to the Senior Legislative Action Council (SLAC) on Friday, July 31 in Monticello.
In August the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act will be held and in this is also the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Click this link for the flyer about the Peter Yarrow concert and the Medicare anniversary on July 30th.
