Social justice is a core value to the mission of social work. Older people are among the most vulnerable populations for whom social workers are called on to advocate. Although Medicare prescription drug coverage has been a top legislative issue over the past few years, such a benefit expansion has yet to be implemented. This article examines the…

A brief analysis of the War on Poverty, Medicare, and the Family Assistance Plan shows that political factors influenced their design and their fate more than need or effectiveness. The author suggests that social workers have a role in promoting the wiser and wider use of research data for determining social policy. (Author)

Used data from 1982 New Beneficiary Survey and from Social Security Administration to trace experience of social workers and members of four other professional groups who started to receive Old Age Insurance benefits or became Medicare-only beneficiaries in 1980-81. Found that earnings capacity of social workers consistently lagged far behind two…