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HomeFiona Ma Press Release

Governor to Get Recommendations on Alternatives to Nursing Homes

For Release: Thursday, August 27, 2020                                     

Contact: Su-Yin Bickner, sbickner@ashbyvillage.org

 

 

The current pandemic has shined a light on an important issue that most people don’t want to face:  what will become of older people who need long-term care and support as they age?

An organization that focuses on helping older adults age in their homes and communities is sponsoring a discussion with State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who will speak about the Governor’s Master Plan on Aging and the recommendations Governor Gavin Newsom will receive in October from a Stakeholder Committee he created.

The Ashby Village Arts & Culture Series virtual event is scheduled for Sunday, September 13th from 2:00 – 4:00 pm PDT (Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83193660960). The event is free and open to the public.

One recommendation is for a universal, long-term services and support benefit, publicly financed, like Social Security, through a payroll tax.  Other recommendations also promote aging in place. “Long-term care is a critical issue,” says Marcia Freedman, Co-Chair of Ashby Village’s Arts & Culture Series and Ashby Village Board member, who organized the event. “Seventy five percent of people over 60 will need some measure of long-term care before they die and it’s enormously expensive.  None of us except the very wealthy or very poor, through MediCal, can afford long-term care--and most of us will need it.”

State Treasurer Ma is a Certified Public Tax Accountant and currently serves on the California State Board of Equalization. She was elected to the California State Assembly from 2006-2012. She was the first Asian American woman to become Speaker Pro Tempore of the State Assembly.

Freedman says every country in the developed world, plus the State of Washington, have publically funded long-term care and support systems, except the United States. “With nursing homes coming under increased scrutiny and knowing that five million people in California are unpaid caregivers for their family members, this strategy is something we urgently need to learn about and support.”

 

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