September 13, 2010 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

The Board of Directors and members are proud to welcome Lee Hammond, President of AARP, to the Commonwealth North podium Monday, September 13 from 12-1pm at the Dena'ina Center. Mr. Hammond will speak on two of the issues that impact all Alaskans and all Americans, health care and economic security in retirement. Our aging population will affect Alaska's economy as we have more individuals taking part in federal programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Mr. Hammond will address both these issues in his talk.

Lee Hammond, was elected to serve as AARP President in 2010. Mr. Hammond, a retired educator, began his 30-year career in education as a classroom teacher. In addition to his service with AARP, he also serves as a member of the Maryland Interagency Committee on Aging Services, and is vice chair of the board of MAC, Inc., a nonprofit Area Agency on Aging serving four Maryland counties. He is also a board member and Supervisory Committee chair of the Board of Education Employees Federal Credit Union and is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church, having served as a liturgist at Wicomico Presbyterian Church.

There are over 90,000 AARP members in Alaska. Membership starts at age 50 and, in some cases, three generations of the same family all belong to AARP. AARP's Alaska office first opened in 2001 and is supplemented by hundreds of volunteers in a variety of AARP community service programs.

Commonwealth North is seeking to determine how health care reform will affect Alaska economically and what potential benefits and challenges it will present to Alaskans in the coming years. The hope is that with enough information Alaskans will be able to clarify and leverage aspects of the new law that are beneficial to Alaska while at the same time work diligently to mitigate those elements of the law that are identified as detrimental. Social Security has just celebrated its 75th birthday. Some long term changes are necessary to pay full benefits after 2039. Whatever changes are made, Alaskans of all ages will have to agree that they make sense and are fair.

Commonwealth North has been an effective leader in researching, coordinating and implementing health care public policies in Alaska. In 2005, the Commonwealth North Board of Directors launched a study group that produced the "Alaska Primary Health Care: Opportunities and Challenges" report, which called for the creation of the Alaska Health Care Roundtable. Most recently, Commonwealth North formed the Health Care Action Coalition to follow through and provide support for recommendations made by the Roundtable.