When he first launched his annual Conference for Seniors, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, didn't fit into his target demographic. Taking the podium at Tuesday's 19th annual gathering, however, the 72-year-old senator was addressing his peers.
The conference has become a huge Utah event, with some 1,000 attendees filling the ballroom of Little America Hotel for the morning's keynote speaker, author Richard Paul Evans.
In planning the inaugural conference nearly two decades ago, Hatch sought to fill a hole he saw in the lives of his constituents.
"We decided a lot of seniors didn't have information that they needed to have the quality of life they wanted in retirement," he said.
For that reason, Tuesday's workshops focused on practical matters — Medicare, Social Security benefits, dealing with Alzheimer's — as well as the lighter side of aging.
"I think we all need to stop and think about how we can make our seniors have even better lives," Hatch said.
Hatch has attended each conference with his wife, Elaine, and said each year he recognizes familiar faces. "A lot of them are people who wouldn't miss this for anything."
One West Jordan couple, Lela and Keith Markham, have attended the conference for at least the past five years.
"I come because I learn quite a bit," said 77-year-old Lela Markham, who prides herself on being a distant relative to Hatch. "It fits in with things that I've been thinking about, and it backs up what I've already been told."
This year, much of the focus was on the federal government's new prescription drug plan. Hatch urged attendees to sign up for Medicare Part D, which was born out of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which the Utah senator co-sponsored. Enrollment for the program ends May 15 and will not open again until the fall.
The plan, which got off to a rocky start earlier this year, has been criticized for being too complicated. Hatch deflected the criticism Tuesday, saying that although the program is complex, it is also "very, very worthwhile."
To sign up for Medicare Part D, seniors must choose from dozens of plans from many different private companies. The number of competing businesses has added to the program's complexity, Hatch said, but will also serve to keep costs low.
"It certainly will take care of our seniors in a way they've never been taken care of before."
Specialists from My Medicare Matters, a national initiative sponsored by the National Coalition on Aging, were on hand Tuesday to offer individual assistance and counseling for seniors interested in signing up for the prescription drug program.
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com