Health-Human Services Secretary says senior programs for all people

RENO, Nev. - Medicare and Social Security aren't just benefits for older folks, they help protect their kids as well, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

"They're not just a program for seniors; they're for all Americans," she told the Nevada Senior Summit on Friday.

"Since the turn of the century, we've added 30 years to peoples' lives in this country. In the year 2000, we're going to have more senior citizens than we do kids."

And if the older folks get sick or can't make ends meet, it's the kids who would have to pay the bills without the federal programs, she added.

Ms. Shalala was the keynote speaker at the summit organized by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and the Senior Coalition.

Reid, who has held four previous such gatherings around the state over the past two years, said it that as Nevada grows grayer along with the rest of the country, it is important that seniors are fully educated on the wealth of programs which are available to them.

"It's impressive when you have a cabinet officer in Washington who can come here," he said.

But Ms. Shalala said she benefits as much as the audience does,

"It's very important that people like me come out and hear the questions and concerns people have about these programs. They paid for them over the years," she said.

She said that while she uses forums like Friday's to explain the administration's programs for senior citizens, often ends up with suggestions that eventually lead to modifications.

"I always learn from seniors," she said.

And those include her mother, who Ms. Shalala sometimes asks to look over department publications.

"She's 87, a practicing lawyer and she plays tennis. If we write something and she can't understand it, it gets rewritten," she said.

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