*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1994.02.17 : Senior Week Activities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 Contact:  Anne Verano
Thursday, Feb. 17, 1994                         (202) 690-6145

     Officials of the federal Health Care Financing Administration
are visiting health care facilities and senior centers today and
tomorrow for person-to-person contact with older Americans served
by the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

     Approximately 33 HCFA staff in several groups will observe
"Senior Week" by meeting older citizens in nine hospitals, eight
nursing homes, 10 senior centers and three counseling programs in
the Baltimore and Washington areas.

     "Administrators of government programs should periodically get
away from their desks to meet the people affected by their
decisions," said HCFA Administrator Bruce C. Vladeck.

     "A business that ignores its customers will soon go bankrupt,
and a government program that loses touch with its customers will
not serve them well," Vladeck said.

     "Where there are problems, we want to know about them. We are
committed to improving the availability and quality of health care
services for senior citizens," he explained.

     These visits are the first in a new program through which
HCFA's senior staff will regularly spend more time in direct
communications with beneficiaries and providers.