President of Retired Persons Vows Push for Social Programs

The new president of the American Assn. of Retired Persons vowed Wednesday to continue pressing the government for social programs to cope with the growing number of senior citizens.

John T. Denning told the AARP’s national convention at the Anaheim Convention Center that the growing population of senior citizens is forcing the nation to consider long-range social programs as more people become dependent on aid.

Denning, a former school official from North Carolina, said the AARP has the power and resources to lead the way in getting federal and state governments to provide for the elderly.

He also called for greater educational opportunities for senior citizens, especially for those laid off by heavy industries that have shut down.

“Education has become a survival skill,” he said. Many of the AARP’s programs emphasize education, such as driving instruction and computer courses for older workers, he said.

The outgoing president, Vita R. Ostrander, also said a growing population of senior citizens is forcing the nation to consider greater spending for the aged.

“The demographics just cannot be ignored,” Ostrander said. The U.S. Census Bureau anticipates 76 million senior citizens by the year 2000, and 113 million by 2025.

Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), addressing the convention, said Medicare must be prepared to handle that population explosion. “We are beginning to see the first ripples of a change in population,” Cranston said. “Those ripples will become a tidal wave on our health-care system, and we better be ready.”

Both Cranston and Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt said the lack of catastrophic coverage and long-term coverage by Medicare is one of the main problems with the system. “Catastrophic health-care coverage is most urgent,” Babbitt said, adding that 1% of the elderly are sick for prolonged times.

“Congress has no higher priority” than to control federal spending, Cranston said, but added that the Gramm-Rudman deficit-cutting law would cause “mindless, automatic cuts” that would hurt the elderly.

The Gramm-Rudman bill requires federal agencies to impose across-the-board budget cuts to achieve a balanced national budget.

AARP conventioneers voiced complaints to Cranston and Babbit about bureaucratic entanglements in Medicare.

Babbitt agreed. Even with his law school background, Babbitt said, he cannot understand benefits forms for Medicare.