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Narmatha's Thoughts http://narmathasthoughts.blogspot.com
The Singapore Government announced that it will spend $100 million over the next five years to promote wellness and active ageing, and on eldercare services for senior citizens. Twenty-five wellness sites will be set up in different constituencies over the next 12 months under the wellness programme which integrates health screening, exercise and social networking. The budget for this is $77 million over five years, with the aim of reaching out to 500,000 senior citizens, said a statement from MCYS on Thursday. In addition, an Active Ageing Capability fund of $20 million will be set up to support projects that promote active lifestyles and lifelong learning among senior citizens. To help family caregivers make informed choices on the care available for the elderly, the government will also start a two-year pilot Assessment and Coordination for Enabling (ACE) service, a partnership between the Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) and key Voluntary Welfare Organisations. This year, $3 million will be provided for CEL's Sustainable Enhancement for the Elderly and Disability services (Seed) fund to implement key initiatives like training for informal caregiver and home- and community-based care services (Read the original).
Well on this side of the world - Texas Health Care Association (THCA) urged the candidates to ensure the eldercare funding crisis receives the attention it deserves in the 2010 Governor's race, and said the growing squeeze on seniors' state and federal long term care funding is an issue Texas voters need to hear about as the campaign progresses. "The challenging budget conditions we face in this 2010-11 biennium, and into 2012-2013 as well, will be front and center in the weeks and months ahead," Graves continued. "We want to make sure voters know and understand that the Medicaid cuts now up for consideration could precipitate the loss of far more in federal funding than it will save in state general revenue dollars. Successfully meeting our most vulnerable seniors' long term care needs -- as well as sustaining a strong workforce and local jobs base -- will be predicated upon appropriate Medicaid funding levels from Austin, particularly in the face of cuts to Medicare funding in Washington." (read the original)
In Ottawa - Ray Pennings, Director of Research for Cardus, expressed concern that although today's federal budget rightly focuses on returning the books from deficit to surplus, it pays too little attention to imminent deficits in elder care, charitable service and broad social architecture.
Cardus released its analysis of the federal budget asking three core questions:
1. "Has the Economic Action Plan provided value for money?" In general, the Action Plan has enabled valuable updating of our physical, transportation and educational infrastructure that will reap positive rewards in the future. It has done so without any indications of significant fiscal mismanagement-no small achievement for a quickly-executed program of this magnitude.
2. "Will the plan to rebalance the books still pay to maintain our social and physical infrastructure?" The budget fails in this regard. While it acknowledges the impact of demographic challenges as it affects its own transfers to provinces, it ignores the impact this same trend will have on social services, labour supply, elder care and other spheres. The failure to include any significant measures encouraging the institutions of civil society to build capacity to address these needs is a significant mistake that will exacerbate long term problems.
3. "Are the plans for economic growth credibly taking into account the known demographic changes which are facing our country?" For the most part, this government is relying on tinkering with the status quo to achieve economic growth. While this is certainly preferred to a strategy of government trying to "pick winners and losers," it does not address the significant future challenge of a shortage of workers and taxpayers that cannot simply be solved by markets.
Cardus' analysis not only calls into question some of the government's long-term projections, but also urges greater attention on the inevitable economic and social impacts of the demographic crisis.
"The short-term strategy is a prudent check on stimulus," concluded Pennings, "but dealing with Canada's long-term economic and social challenges have been left for another day."
