The following article may be useful to advocates as we develop our
material for our discussions with senators and congressman. Looks like
Senators Connie Mack (R) and Ted Kennedy (D) understand where we are
coming from with the economic case ie. spend research dollars now and
save megadollars later. Of course there is a case base on compassion too
, but in todays time compassion with economic benefits seems to be the
winning combination.

Houston Chronicle       Tuesday, March 18, 1997

Less elderly disability seen as Medicare fix
BY SPENCER RICH
Washington Post

WASHINGTON - Medical innovations and lifestyle changes have reduced the
percentage of elderly Americans who have chronic disabilities by 15
percent over the past decade, according to a medical study to be
published today.

The study, conducted by Duke University and funded by the government's
National Institute on Aging, is being hailed by a panel of academic
experts to show that such improvements could cut hundreds of billions of
dollars from future Medicare costs and help solve the program's
financial problems with-out deep benefit slashes or huge tax increases

Care for the disabled costs up to six times more than care for healthy
individual. So, as a result of the lower rates of chronic disabled,
according to Duke's study, Medicare costs in 1995 were about $25 billion
to $33 billion lower than they otherwise would have been. Medicare, a
$200 billion-a-year federal health program for 38 million aged and
disabled Americans, is growing much faster than the economy. Medicares
hospital trust fund faces bankruptcy in 2001. Even if that can be
temporarily averted, program costs will balloon when the big baby boom
population reaches retirement early in the next century, doubling the
rolls. Large benefits cuts or payroll tax increases would then be needed
to save the program. The one viable solution to Medicare's financial
problems could come by increasing research funding to improve the health
of the elderly.

Senator Edward Kennedy D-Mass., used the study Monday to argue that on
viable solution to Medicare's financial problems could come by
increasing research funding to improve the health of the elderly.

"If we take the sensible steps needed to fix Medicare for the short term
," he said, "the most effective. way to keep It solvent for the long
term is to maintain and modestly increase the existing trend toward
better health for older Americans."

Kennedy proposed a doubling of the current level of federal support for
medical research over the next  five years to $26 billion, arguing that
right now "only one quarter of the worthwhile research projects
submitted for support by the National Institutes of Health can be funded
."

Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., has introduced a sense of the Senate
resolution proposing a doubling of NIH funding over five years, but how
far it will get is uncertain Kennedy argued Monday that Medicare savings
would almost certainly result from smart spending now on promising ways
to thwart the disabling impact of Alzheimer's disease , PARKINSON'S
DISEASE, Osteoporosis and diabetes, research into estrogen therapy for
women and campaigns to get people to improve eating habits and
lifestyles.

One strategy, for example, is based on research now under way seeking to
retard the onset and progression of Alzheimer's, making it much less
costly to care for victims of the disease in its earliest stages. The
Duke study found large savings could also be realized by reducing the
number of elderly who need to be put in nursing homes, where the typical
1994 cost was $43,300 a person.

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