Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging and the 123rd Legislative Agenda

2007 brings Maine a new Legislature and a full slate of new and reintroduced bills for elected officials to sort out, advocate for funding, or discard. The Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging (M4A) and Eastern Agency on Aging (EAA) will be in Augusta to make sure our legislators know what our senior citizens need and the relevant legislation to serve these needs. Please understand that we will need your help to make sure these important bills are adopted this year. I would like to provide you a brief overview with the hope you will call, write, e-mail or even go with me to Augusta when the time is right to help convince Maine’s lawmakers of the importance of these proposals. After all, most of these bills were inspired by the voice of the seniors who attended the Blaine House Conference on Aging last September.

Thanks to the efforts of a champion for senior issues, State Representative James J. Campbell, the following M4A bills have been submitted:

123LR1119—An Act to Provide Supplemental Funding for Mileage Reimbursement for Volunteers for the Meals on Wheels Program. This bill will provide agencies on aging an additional $75,000 statewide to help reimburse volunteer drivers who are delivering meals. State and Federal funding to Meals for Me has been flat for many years, not taking into account inflation or increased fuel costs. This funding is simply no longer adequate to sustain these programs. The agencies on aging rely on volunteers to distribute meals to the homebound and to congregate sites across the state. Without adequate mileage reimbursement, many volunteers just cannot afford to maintain their cars or purchase gasoline in order to continue to deliver meals.

123LR1120—An Act to Provide Support for the Volunteer Medical Ride Network. This bill would provide $50,000 statewide to support the Volunteer Medical Ride Network. EAA could reinstate this dormant program to help many seniors without transportation in our coverage area.

123LR1121—Resolve, To Support Community Planning for the Aging of the Population, which would add a component addressing the elder population to municipal planning activities. Many municipalities have marketed their communities to retirees, yet have neglected planning for the reality of a community which may end up having a large elderly population. This bill will recommend that such comprehensive planning undertaken.

123LR1122—An Act To Provide Assistance to Family and Friends Who Provide Home Health Care for Senior Citizens. This proposed bill would provide a $1.00 check-off on State of Maine tax returns to go into an unpaid family caregiver tax incentive or deduction fund to be invested for use starting when the predicted jump in the elderly demographic occurs (most likely in or around the year 2010). Agencies on aging, like EAA, would use federal Family Caregiver funding to publicize this check-off option. The subsequent investment would be available for many different uses to help informal family caregivers in the future.

123LR1123—Resolve, To Address Issues Concerning the Employment of Senior Citizens. This bill will direct the Commissioner of the Department of Labor to establish a stakeholders’ group that will report back to the Legislature with recommendations to address barriers to senior employment, promote best practices, review benefit reductions for working seniors and undertake a public education campaign to promote the value of senior workers.

The M4A lineup of bills is somewhat modest, but will make a difference in the lives of thousands of our cherished elders. Two of the bills look to the future and have no new costs associated. If you wish to contact your legislator and don’t know how, please give me a call at 1-800-432-7812. (Also, this link will direct you to a page on the State of Maine website which helps you locate contact information for your legislators.) If you are excited about any of these bills and would be willing to provide an anecdote or story that would help our legislators understand its importance, please don’t hesitate to give me a call, send me your story or post a comment below. Your voice will make a difference!

--Noëlle Merrill, Executive Director

Comments

Cataract Surgery for Seniors: It is my experience that seniors are deceived into believeing that Medicare and Supplemental Insurances will cover the costs of routine out-patient cataract surgery. To date the out-of-pocket bills that I am expected to pay exceeds $1,500. My monthly income is ~$1,100 per month.