Speech
by the
Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez
Health Care Accessibility for Seniors Act (HASA)
March 12, 2002

Good morning. I am Nydia Velázquez, and I represent New York's 12th District, including parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Thank you all for coming today to discuss two issues I feel very strongly about - access to affordable housing and quality health care for seniors.

In the last two decades, advances in medicine and a wave of new information about health have led to people living longer. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1999 there were more than 35.5 million Americans over age 65. By the year 2075, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that more than 55.7 million Americans will be over 65 - that means 1 in every 8 people residing in this country will be a senior citizen.

As our population ages, two critical concerns top the agenda for older Americans - housing and healthcare.

The New York State Office for the Aging recently released a report that points to loss of independence and failing health among the top concerns of senior citizens. In addition, a nationwide survey conducted by AARP found that 85% of seniors wanted to "stay where they were and never move," and more than half of those surveyed have lived in the same area for 30 years. The overwhelming first choice for seniors is to grow old comfortably in a place they consider home.

Although there are programs that address the urgent needs of health care and housing individually for today's seniors, there are no established links between the two - until now with the introduction later today in Washington of the Health Care Accessibility for Seniors Act, or HASA.

The Healthcare Accessibility for Seniors Act would provide federal grants for the creation of community health care centers right in the housing developments where seniors live.

This would allow for easier access to health services, especially for seniors who would otherwise need to travel for medical assistance. It would bring preventive treatment and immediate care to them.

The bill would also help simplify the medical process since seniors would be able to get all their health questions - both simple and complex - answered on site.

Whether it is an inquiry about a referral to a specialist or a routine medical appointment, through HASA, seniors could get the medical care they need, close to home.

Instead of seniors depending on someone to help get them to and from a medical facility or spending hours trying to navigate the health services maze, these important services would be just a few steps away from seniors' front doors. My bill would go a long way in helping you to maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle.

The Sunset Park Senior Center at Marien-Heim is an excellent example of what the government can do to ensure safe, affordable and healthy living for our nation's seniors. Because this center was developed in conjunction with Lutheran Medical Center, many of you here today enjoy quick and easy access to quality healthcare.

But my legislation would go a step further. It would take critical health services and put them in the building where you live. It takes the situation you experience here at the Sunset Park Senior Center and makes it even better.

President Bush recently asked that 1,200 new community health centers be established nationwide over the next five years. Today, I call on the President and my colleagues in Congress to follow through on this pledge and support my legislation.

We need to develop such centers in the places where they are most needed - close to seniors. This way, our aging population can live independently while finding the quality health care they need - not far from their front doors.