Author Archives for Herb Weiss

AARP Gives Us a Snapshot of the Millennial Caregiver

Published in the Woonsocket Call on June 3, 2018

AARP’s latest caregiver report places the spotlight on the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 1996, ages 22 to 38 in 2018. “Millennials: The Emerging Generation of Family Caregivers,” using data based primarily from the 2015 Caregiving in the U.S. study, notes that one-in-four of the nearly 40 million family caregivers in America is now a Millennial.

The 11-page report, released by AARP’s Public Policy Institute on May 22, 2018, takes a look at the Millennial’s generational experiences and challenges as they support an aging parent, grandparent, friend or neighbor with basic living and medical needs.

“Caregiving responsibilities can have an impact on the futures of younger family caregivers, who are at a particular time in their lives when pivotal social and professional networks are being formed,” said Jean Accius, PhD, Vice President, AARP Public Policy Institute, in a statement with the report’s release. “We must consider the unique needs of millennial family caregivers and ensure that they are included in programs and have the support they need to care for themselves as well as their loved ones,” she says.

The Millennial Caregiver

According to the AARP report, Millennial caregivers are evenly split by gender but also the most diverse group of family caregivers to date, notes the report. More than 27 percent of the millennial caregivers are Hispanic/Latino, or 38 percent of all family caregivers among Hispanic/Latinos.

The AARP report notes that Millennials are the most diverse generation of family caregivers when compared to other generations. Eighteen percent are African-American/Black, or 34 percent of all African-American/Black family caregivers. Eight percent are Asian American/Pacific Islander, or 30 percent of all the AAPI family caregivers, says the report, noting that less than 44 percent are white, or 17 percent of all white family caregivers. Finally, twelve percent self-identify as LGBT, which makes them the largest portion of LGBT family caregivers (34 percent) than any other generation.

About half of the Millennial caregivers (44 percent) are single and never married while 33 percent are married. If this demographic trend continues a smaller family structure will make it more likely to have a caregiver when you need one.

More than half of the Millennial caregivers perform complex Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), including assisting a person to eat, bath, and to use the bathroom, along with medical nursing tasks, at a rate similar to older generations. But, nearly all Millennials help with one instrumental activity of daily living including helping a person to shop and prepare meals.

While Millennial caregivers are more likely than caregivers from other generations to be working, one in three earn less than $30,000 per year. These low-income individual’s higher out-of-pocket costs (about $ 6,800 per year) related to their caregiving role than those with higher salaries, says the AARP report.

As to education, Millennial caregivers have a high school diploma or has taken some college courses but not finished. But, one in three have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.

According to the AARP report, 65 percent of the Millennial caregivers surveyed care for a parent or grandparent usually over age 50 and more than half are the only one in the family providing this support. However, these young caregivers are more likely to care for someone with a mental health or emotional issue — 33 percent compared to 18 percent of older caregivers. As a result, these younger caregivers will face higher emotional, physical and financial strains.

The AARP report notes that Millennials are the most likely of any generation to be a family caregiver and employed (about 73 percent). Sixty two percent of the boomers were employed and were caregivers. On top of spending an average of more than 20 hours a week (equivalent to a part-time job) in their caregiving duties, more than half of the Millennials worked full-time, over 40 hours a week. However, 26 percent spend more than 20 hours of week providing family care.

Although most Millennial caregivers seek out consumer information to assist them in their caregiving duties, usually from the internet and from a health care professional, the most frequent source of information is from other family members and friends.

While Millennial caregivers consume information at a higher rate, most (83 percent) want more information to supplement what they have. The tope areas include stress management (44 percent) and tips for coping with caregiving challenges (41 percent).

A Changing Workforce

Millennials are encountering workplace challenges because they are less understood by supervisors and managers than their older worker colleagues. More than half say their caregiving role affected their work in a significant way, says the AARP report. The most common impacts are going to work late or leaving early (39 percent) and cutting back on work hours (14 percent).

As we see the graying of America, it makes sense for employers to change their policies and benefits to become more family friendly to all caregivers, including Millennials, to allow them to balance their work with their caregiving activities.
It’s the right thing to do.

To read the full report, visit: https://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2018/millennial-family-caregiving.html.

Visit http://www.aarp.org/caregiving for more resources and information on family caregiving, including AARP’s Prepare to Care Guides.

Trump Signs Legislation to Undo Nation’s Banking Rules

Published in the Woonsocket Call on May 27, 2018

On May 22, 2018, The Senior Safe Act, a bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to help protect older American’s from financial exploitation and fraud, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 258-159 as part of a bipartisan banking reform package after previously passing the Senate in March by a vote of 67-31. President Donald J. Trump’s signed the bill into law rolling back regulatory oversight of the nation’s financial industry.

The Senior Safety Act is part of S. 2155, the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act,” a bill that modified the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was passed by Congress in 2010 to oversee the financial industry after the financial crash and recession of 2008-09.

Protecting Older Investors from Financial Exploitation

Through the watchdog efforts of the Senate Aging Committee, financial exploitation of seniors was identified as a top senior issue to combat. According to the Government Accountability Office, financial fraud targeting older Americans is a growing epidemic that costs seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually. These frauds range from the “Jamaican Lottery Scam,” to the IRS impersonation scam, to the financial exploitation of seniors through guardianships. Earlier this year a hearing was held to update the public about the committee’s efforts to combat scams targeting older Americans as well as unveil its 2018.

As the Chairman and former Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Senators Collins and McCaskill introduced the Senior $afe Act last year. Existing bank privacy laws can make it difficult for financial institutions to report suspected fraud to the proper authorities. The Senior $afe Act address this problem by encouraging banks, credit unions, investment advisors, broker-dealers, insurance companies and insurance agencies to report suspected senor financial fraud. It also protects these institutions from being sued for making reports so long as they have trained their employees and make reports in good faith and on a reasonable basis to the proper authorities.

“As Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, I have been committed to fighting fraud and financial exploitation targeted at older Americans,” said Senator Collins. “The Senior $afe Act, based on Maine’s innovative program, will empower and encourage our financial service representatives to identify warning signs of common scams and help prevent seniors from becoming victims.”

Judith M. Shaw, Maine Securities Administrator and chair of the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Committee on Senior Issues and Diminished Capacity, says that this legislation incentivizes financial service institutions, including those in the securities industry, to train key employees on the identification and reporting of suspected financial exploitation of seniors. “This is a significant and important tool in the ongoing efforts to protect senior investors,” she adds.

Adds Jaye L. Martin, Executive Director of Legal Services for the Elderly, “We know from our proven success with Senior Safe in Maine that education of financial services professionals is a key component to identifying and stopping financial exploitation of seniors. There is no doubt this bill will help prevent seniors all over the country from becoming victims.”

With the passage of S. 2155, Keith Gillies, President of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), said, “The Senior Safe Act provides “much needed protection for older investors and will allow advisors to better protect their clients’ interests.”

“Advisors are often the first line of defense for scammers looking to take advantage of investors,” says Gillies, noting that studies have found older Americans are often a prime target.

The Pros and Cons of S. 2155

Since the Dodd-Frank legislation’s passage eight years ago, 20 percent of small banks have been put out of business, said President Trump and a ceremony where he signed S. 2155 into law. He predicted that the roll back of the costly banking reform regulations, both “crippling” and “crushing” to community banks and credit unions, would stimulate the banking industry to increase lending to businesses.

Banking regulations made it virtually impossible for new banks to be established to replace those that had closed their doors, said Trump, denying small businesses with access to capital. “By liberating small banks from excessive bureaucracy — and that’s what it was: bureaucracy — we are unleashing the economic potential of our people,” said Trump.

Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) calls the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act a jobs bill, saying “it is a much-needed solution for the folks who power our local economies.”

In an op-ed in the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, Senator Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana) said, “This banking package is reasonable, balanced, and the result of thoughtful negotiation and compromise. It would take measured steps to encourage community financial institutions to boost lending and provide new protections for consumers. And it’s an example of what we can achieve when we work together to break the gridlock in Washington.”

But others strongly oppose passage of S. 2155.

Although S. 2155 has a provision to protect seniors from financial exploitation, Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Co-Chair David N. Cicilline, expressed strong concerns when the Houses passed S. 2155, he jokingly refers to as “the Bank Lobbyist Act.”

“Ten years ago, Wall Street’s recklessness brought our economy to the brink of collapse. It has taken Rhode Island years to recover. In many ways, we are still recovering.,” noted Rhode Island’s Congressman representing District 1. “The Dodd-Frank financial reform law ended the worst of the Big Banks’ excesses. It established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and gave working people a voice against the most powerful corporations in our country,” he said, noting that the passing of S. 2155 has reversed this progress.

It’s a massive giveaway to the wealthy and the middle class is getting screwed. This is a raw deal for working men and women. The American people deserve A Better Deal,” Cicilline said.

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, warns that with the deregulation of banks, the GOP “are still gunning for Social Security under the guise of entitlement reform.”

Richtman predicts the passage of S. 2155 and it’s signing into law “makes another financial crisis more likely.”” He asks, “How fair is it to ask workers to be responsible and save when the government strips away protections intended to keep our savings secure?”

“Retirees’ Social Security benefits must be preserved because, at least for now, they are the only thing workers can depend on after the next financial crash,” says Richtman.

The Senior $afe Act was endorsed by organizations, including AARP, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), Transamerica, and LPL Financial.

Keynote: Fine Calls for Community Health Stations Across Rhode Island

Published in the Woonsocket Call on May 20, 2018

Last week, the Rhode Island Minority Elder Task Force (RIMETF) held a Health and Wellness Fair at the Cape Verdean Progressive Center in East Providence to put a spot light on minority health care needs.

Dr. Michael Fine, a primary care physician who formerly was the state’s Health Director, and now serves as Senior Population Health and Clinical Officer at the Blackstone Valley Community Health Care, Inc., gave the keynote address, calling for an overhaul of America’s ailing health care delivery system.

Although RIMETF’s primary mission is to raise money and seek grants to provide limited emergency assistance to low-income seniors in crisis situations, the organization also promotes the advancement of inclusive programs for minority elders, says Susan Sweet, the nonprofit’s founder, a former state official who advocated for, developed and operated programs and services provided to the state’s vulnerable populations, including elders. She continued that work after retirement from the state. “During the last two decades, RIMETF provided more than $53,000 in grants,” she said.

According to Sweet, RIMETF’s $200 grants help low income seniors to pay utility costs, rent, food, medications, clothing, furniture, personal healthcare items and other necessities of life. She says that 80 grants are given out annually, about half going to minority applicants.

But, the decision to host a Health and Wellness Fair on May 11, 2018, was tied to minorities having a lack of access to health care services and to have Dr. Fine outline a better way of providing care to Rhode Island’s minorities, adds Sweet. “To this day the state’s diverse minorities continue to remain in the dark about health care programs and services that they can access and that lack of information has a detrimental impact on their health and well-being,” says Sweet.

Health Disparities in Rhode Island

During his thirty-minute keynote, Dr. Fine, a primary care physician who formerly was the state’s Health Director, and now serves as Senior Population Health
and Clinical Officer at the Blackstone Valley Community Health Care, Inc., provided the details as to how lack of access to health care adversely impacts the health and life expectancy of Rhode Island’s minorities.

According to Dr. Fine, infant mortality in the African American population is about three times as high than in the white population. Diabetes is about two times more common in the African-American population than it is in the white population. He also noted that life expectancy in the United States is 4.5 years less among the African American population than it is among the white population.

Zeroing in on Cape Verdeans, Dr. Fine noted that the Rhode Island Department of Health does not track the health of this minority group separately from other groups. The state’s primary care practices and community health centers don’t have a good way to decide who counts as a Cape Verdean for health tracking purposes, he said. But about half of the Cape Verdean community in Rhode Island live in Pawtucket and Central Falls, so that health information collected using the electronic medical record by Blackstone Valley Community Health Center (BVCHC), Inc, provides the first ever look at the health status of Cape Verdeans in Rhode Island.

It’s difficult to know if that data is complete, because it doesn’t allow us to count all Cape Verdeans at the BVCHC, but only those people who speak Cape Verdean Creole or those who identify themselves as having been born in Cape Verde. “Because we have no complete way to identify the health status of the Cape Verdean population, we have no certain way to identify specials needs and opportunities to provide better health care to this minority group,” says Dr. Fine. In addition, because Cape Verdean Creole is not a written language, “we have no way to certify Cape Verdean medical translators” which means some of the health care needs of Cape Verdeans go unaddressed, he adds.

But, there are better ways to improve the health care of Rhode Island’s Cape Verdeans, says Dr. Fine. “We must make sure that all Cape Verdeans are enrolled in a primary care practice or community health center,” he says, noting that electronic medical systems can provide better measures of the health of this population.

Dr. Fine called for Cape Verdeans to be appointed to boards of health care organizations to represent them in decision of allocation of resources, to demand better translation services, and to improve delivery of health care to Rhode Island’s Cape Verdeans.

As to Rhode Islanders, Dr. Fine noted that 25 to 45 percent don’t get primary care and prevention. As a result, there are 1,200 unnecessary deaths a year from heart disease and stroke. There are 200 unnecessary deaths a year from colon cancer and 65-70 unnecessary cases of HIV. Up to 200,000 Rhode Islanders remain smokers, he says.

Dr. Fine continued to detail the negative impact on the health of Rhode Islanders if they did not visit a primary care physician. More than 1,500 babies are born to teenagers, more than a third to minorities. Not to mention that there are 330 to 400 avoidable deaths from influenza every year due lack of immunization (500,000 Rhode Islanders are currently not immunized every year). And there are 330 deaths a year from prescriptions and other drug overdoses, he says.

It’s Time for a Change

Dr. Fine warns that major changes must be made to the nation’s health care delivery system to reduce spiraling health care costs and to provide better access. This solution can be modeled after his Central Falls Neighborhood Health Station (CFNHS), he says. It’s a multi and interdisciplinary approach, bringing a wide variety of health care professionals together, from physician, nurses, physician assistants, mental health workers, nutritionists, substance abuse workers and midwifes, to rehabilitation professionals, CFNHS’s must also provide urgent care and primary care services, be open on weekends and have “sick today access appointments.” Says Dr. Fine.

Fine has documented early successes in the CFNHS’s delivery of health care. Adolescent pregnancy was been reduced by 24 percent in 2016 and emergency medical service runs were reduced by 5 percent in just 12 months.

Dr. Fine envisions a Neighborhood Health Station in every community of 10,000 persons. When up and running, “we’ll increase life expectancy, reduce infant mortality and revitalize the local economy,” he says, by reducing health care costs.

Concluding the Health and Wellness Fair, Director Charles J. Fogarty, of the Rhode Island Division of Elderly Affairs, who will be retiring next month, was recognized by RIMETF for his 40 years of public service and his support for the work of the Minority Elder Task Force.

For more details regarding the work of the RI Minority Elder Task Force or to make a donation, write RIMETF, 5 Leahy Street, Rumford, RI 02916 or call Lori Brennan Almeida, Chairperson, at 401-497-1287.