Barriers to Health Care for Older Americans: Part 2. Washington, D.C., March 6, 1973. Part 6. Washington, D.C., July 12, 1973. Part 11. Albuquerque, N. Mex., May 25, 1974. Part 16. Washington, D.C., July 17, 1974. (Additional hearings anticipated but not scheduled at time of this printing.) *Appointed January 25, 1974, to fill vacancy on committee by resignation of William B. Saxbe (R. Ohio) from the Senate, January 3, 1974. Opening statement by Senator Edmund S. Muskie_ Statement by Senator Frank E. Moss_ Statement by Senator Pete V. Domenici_ Statement submitted by Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. Page 1249 1251 1252 1253 1291 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Krause, Daphne H., executive director, Minneapolis Age and Opportunity 1254 Adamovich, George G., administrator, Abbott Hospital Division, Abbott- 1260 Krause, Daphne H.-Continued__ 1262 Adamovich, George G.-Continued___. 1264 Pearson, Lavetta, R.N., director, Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Inc./ 1274 Lampert, Judith B., R.N., assistant to executive director of the Minneapolis 1277 Farber, Roger, M.D., board certified neurologist, member of board of directors of CMA__ 1280 Krause, Daphne H.-Continued_. 1283 Werges, Thomas, M.D., diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine__ 1287 Sullivan, Carlos P., Jr., M.D., neurology resident, University of Minnesota Krause, Daphne H.-Continued__. 1298 APPENDIX Additional material submitted for the record: Item 1. Statement of Lynn McCarthy, chairman, senior citizens committee, Junior League of Minneapolis, Minn____ 1311 Item 2. Minneapolis Age and Opportunity Center, Inc., services delivered over the past 5 years.. 1312 Item 3. Neighborhood Organizations Supported by Abbott-Northwestern Hospital; submitted by George Adamovich, administrator, Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn....... Item 5. Letters of support for clinical pharmacy from Hugh F. Kabat, Item 4. A Summary Profile of the Elderly in Minnesota; submitted by George Adamovich, administrator, Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn___. 1317 1317 1320 1320 BARRIERS TO HEALTH CARE FOR OLDER AMERICANS TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1974 U. S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH OF THE ELDERLY OF THE Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 308, Russell Building, Hon. Edmund S. Muskie, chairman, presiding. Present: Senators Muskie, Moss, Mondale, Fong, Percy, Hansen, and Domenici. Also present: William E. Oriol, staff director; Val Halamandaris, associate counsel; Elizabeth Heidbreder and John Edie, professional staff members; John Guy Miller, minority staff director; Margaret Fayé, minority professional staff member; Gerald Strickler, printing assistant; Yvonne McCoy, assistant chief clerk; and Donna Gluck and Joan Merrigan, clerks. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Senator MUSKIE. The subcommittee will come to order. Today, we continue the inquiry of this subcommittee into "Barriers to Health Care for Older Americans," a series of hearings to assess the health care needs of our older citizens. These hearings have been held in and outside Washington, but no matter where they have been, the rising costs of medical care to the elderly have emerged as a dominant issue. In our last hearing, statistics showed how Medicare premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance charges have risen since the beginning of the program. The deductible, for example, under the part A hospital program has more than doubled. Hospital Medicare patients paid $40 of first day hospital charges in 1966 compared to $84 today. We also heard that many health services, such as preventive care and outpatient drugs, are not covered at all by the program. Medicare despite its valuable protection-now covers only 40 percent of the average annual medical bills for aged persons. The witnesses we will hear this morning will show in very human terms what the statistics mean. They will describe what the lack of comprehensive coverage can mean for those who feel that they cannot afford health care and consequently neglect to seek the care they need. And when older people do seek care, they may be in for a shock. This is illustrated by the two exhibits1 we have which demonstrate 1 See next page. |