Health in Aging Month, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7337 of September 5, 2000

Health in Aging Month, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only 3
million older Americans; today, at the dawn of the 21st
century, there are 34 million older citizens in our
Nation, and we anticipate that, by the year 2050, one
in four Americans will be 65 or older. We can be
grateful that because of extraordinary advances in
medicine, technology, and science, as well as increased
public awareness of the importance of good nutrition
and physical fitness, these older citizens are now
living longer, more active, more productive lives than
any previous generation.

The dramatic increase in the life span of our citizens,
however, presents us with new challenges. While
Americans are no longer dying from many of the diseases
that affected previous generations, they must now
contend with chronic conditions such as arthritis,
osteoporosis, heart and lung disease, dementia, and
stroke. These conditions are major causes of disability
and death in our Nation, and their financial impact, in
terms of medication, treatment, and long-term care
costs, can be crushing. Older Americans now pay an
average of more than $1,200 a year for prescription
drugs, up from $559 in 1992, and that amount is
projected to increase to more than $2,800 over the next
decade. Millions of these older citizens have no
prescription drug coverage at all, and millions more
have expensive, inadequate coverage or are at risk of
losing what coverage they have.

My Administration has taken a number of important
actions to meet these new challenges. We have proposed
a new affordable Medicare prescription drug benefit
option available to all beneficiaries. This new benefit
should ensure that every beneficiary, whether covered
under Medicare, managed care, or a retiree health plan,
will be able to access prescription drug coverage,
including protection against catastrophic drug costs.
We have also proposed an initiative to assist millions
of older Americans and their families in meeting the
financial challenges of long-term care, including a
$3,000 tax credit for people with long-term care needs
or their caregivers and improved equity in Medicaid
eligibility for people living in home- and community-
based settings rather than nursing facilities.

We are continuing our research efforts into chronic
conditions that affect older Americans, such as
Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes,
and I am proud that my proposed budget for fiscal 2001
includes a historic $1 billion increase in funding for
the National Institutes of Health. And, most important,
we remain committed to meeting the health and financial
needs of older Americans by protecting and
strengthening Social Security and Medicare and
modernizing, improving, and reauthorizing the Older
Americans Act.

But there is still much to do if we are to sustain the
health and quality of life of our increasingly aging
population. We must raise awareness of the unique needs
of older Americans and ensure that caregivers and
health professionals are specially trained to treat the
elderly. We must expand our research efforts into
chronic conditions that affect older Americans. And we
must improve health care financing, delivery, and
administrative structures so that health plans and
providers have the flexibility they need

to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases, slow the
rate of disability progression, and ensure the
continuity and quality of care.

The health of older Americans varies from individual to
individual and can depend on many factors, but we all
recognize the critical importance of quality medical
care, financial security, and a caring support system
to sustaining a high quality of life. As our Nation's
population ages, let us work together to ensure that
these essential components of good health are available
to every American.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim September 2000 as Health in
Aging Month, 2000. I urge government officials, health
care providers, business and community leaders, and the
American people to work together to promote healthy
aging and to ensure that older citizens enjoy
fulfilling, independent, and productive lives.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.