FY 2014 State Budget

4/25/2013 4:25pm

Funding increases are needed for programs to help older adults stay independent in their own home. The MI Choice Medicaid Waiver program and the Office of Services to the Aging save the state money and meet the needs of a growing senior population. Action needs to be taken today to protect Michigan seniors!

What you can do:

PLEASE contact your legislators and ask them to support the Governor’s $18 million proposed funding increase in the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver program, and a 5% increase in OSA funding. If your legislators already support this funding, be sure to say THANK YOU! A list of state Senators and Representatives for our 9 counties follows:

Talking Points:

• The Office of Services to the Aging (OSA) has taken $10 million in funding cuts between 2009 and 2011 (27%). This at a time when more and more seniors are requiring services.  The OSA provides programs such as Meals-on-Wheels, home-based and community services, and volunteer programs. These programs, funded by non-Medicaid funds, are also major contributors to keeping older adults in their own homes and out of expensive Medicaid funded nursing homes beds.  The dollar savings to the state are very clear.
• Meals-on-Wheels, an OSA funded program,  was cut by $3.3 million from 2009-2011. An additional       $500,000 was cut from this vital program this year by the federal sequester! The value of a home       delivered meal is obvious. Less apparent is the intangible benefit:  a Meals-on-Wheels delivery person       may be the only person an older adult sees all week. The value of that human interaction to the senior is immeasurable.
• The program saves the state money. MI Choice Medicaid Wavier program, which includes the Nursing Facility Transition program costs an average of $52/day compared to average nursing home costs of $172/day.
• The Nursing Facility Transition Program (NFT) has immediate savings. Because the program transitions individuals out of a more costly nursing facility, there is immediate savings to the state and taxpayers. Last year over 1,600 people transitioned state-wide saving Medicaid roughly $38 million.

Who to Contact:

Rick Snyder--Governor  (517) 373-3400   Rick.Snyder@michigan.gov

Representatives:                                        

• Winnie Brinks (517) 373-0822      winniebrinks@house.mi.gov
• Jon Bumstead (517) 373-7317   JonBumstead@house.mi.gov
• Mike Callton (517) 373-0842          MikeCallton@house.mi.gov
• Brandon Dillon (517) 373-2668   brandondillon@house.mi.gov
• Ray Franz (517) 373-0825                   RayFranz@house.mi.gov
• Bob Genetski (517) 373-0836      BobGenetski@house.mi.gov
• Thomas Hooker (517) 373-2277   ThomasHooker@house.mi.gov
• Joel Johnson(517) 373-8962        joeljohnson@house.mi.gov
• Peter MacGregor (517) 373-0218   PeterMacGregor@house.mi.gov
• Rick Outman(517) 373-0834        RickOutman@house.mi.gov
• Lisa Posthumus Lyons (517) 373-0846   LisaLyons@house.mi.gov
• Phil Potvin (517) 373-1747                   philpotvin@house.mi.gov
• Rob VerHeulen (517) 373-8900    RobVerHeulen@house.mi.gov
• Ken Yonker (517) 373-0840          KenYonker@house.mi.gov

Senators                                       

• Darwin Booher--Senator (517) 373-1725   SenDBooher@senate.michigan.gov
• Judy Emmons--Senator (517) 373-3760   SenJEmmons@senate.michigan.gov
• Goeff Hansen--Senator   (517) 373-1635   senghansen@senate.michigan.gov
• Dave Hildenbrand--Senator (517) 373-1801   sendhildenbrand@senate.michigan.gov
• Mark Jansen--Senator  (517) 373-0797   senmjansen@senate.michigan.gov
• Rick Jones--Senator (517) 373-3447   SenRJones@senate.michigan.gov
• Arlan Meekhof--Senator   (517) 373-6920   senameekhof@senate.michigan.gov

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From the Executive Director

3/25/2013 5:00pm

Frail low-income older adults will receive fewer home delivered meals and other vital home care services due to implementation of the federal sequester. As of March 1, funding for Older Americans Act programs across the country was reduced approximately 5%. That means fewer services for struggling older adults who need services the most.

In this region, about $140,000 in service funding will be lost. Unfortunately, the funding reduction is impacting programs that have already taken hits. State funding for meals and home care programs was cut 28% over a recent three year period. State funding for home delivered meals is at virtually the same level as 1997. Obviously, costs have risen significantly during that time frame. And the older adult population has increased by more than 25%. Adding to the challenge of serving older adults is the reduction in senior millage funding due to declining property values.

Consequently, meals and other services have been cut.  Waiting lists grow across the state and country.  Older adults who have given so much to our communities go without help.

AAAWM staff hopes to offset the cuts for this year by using unallocated funding and reserves.  However it will be impossible to continue that in future years if there are additional cuts. According to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Republicans and Democrats are so far apart on budget issues that the threat of more reductions is very real.

So if people tell you that not much has changed due to sequestration, share with them how older adults across the country are trying to get by with less.  Also, contact your U.S. Senators and Congressman about the impact of sequestration. Older adults need your advocacy support.    

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

11/29/2012 4:40pm

There are a number of issues that are being considered by Congress and the state legislature before the end of the year that will have a huge impact on seniors. Below is urgent information on three of them, and what you can do right now.

Sequestration ( the fiscal cliff)

• Threatens federal funding for older adult programs which help seniors stay in their own homes.
• The Super Committee, comprised of 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats from both the House and Senate, failed to come to a budget agreement, resulting in the automatic budget cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. This is a package of spending cuts and tax hikes that will come into effect on Jan. 2, the first business day of 2013, if President Barack Obama and Congress cannot agree to an alternative measure to cut the deficit.  $109 billion will come out of the federal budget every year for the next 10 years. Half, or about $54.7 billion, comes from defense spending, half will come from domestic programs, including Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly, which will see an $11 billion cut.  The sequester cuts roughly 8 percent from all federal discretionary programs, from military spending to food safety to education.
• Click here for sequestration advocacy

Personal Property Tax Exemption

• State level bills that will reduce funding to local senior millages and state municipalities.
• Lt. Governor Calley has been working with the House of Representatives on an alternative plan to replace revenue lost to local entities from the exemption of industrial and commercial personal property tax.  This differs from the earlier Senate passed version in that instead of relying on the annual appropriation process to replace the funds with expiring tax credits it proposes to shift funds from the state USE tax out of the general fund to the “Personal Property Tax Reimbursement Fund”.  It would require a statewide vote to do so. Funds lost to the general fund would be made up in time from the expiring tax credits, with no indication of where general fund reductions would come from in the meantime.
• Of greater immediate concern to senior programs with millage funding is that the provisions for protecting “Voter-Approved” millages that were in the Senate bills are absent from the new proposal. The exemptions would begin in tax year 2014, and projected replacement revenue would not be available until 2016, and projected at only at 80% replacement, if voters approve the shift of funds from the USE tax. 
• The new proposal allows local units of government to have a special assessment on industrial real property for police, fire, and ambulance services, that could help replace lost revenue up to 100%, but have no mechanism for other entities to make up lost funds. 
• Click here for Personal Property Tax advocacy

Blue Cross Bills

• These bills will change how Blue Cross Blue Shield is structured and will put seniors and those with disabilities in jeopardy of losing affordable insurance coverage.
• Blue Cross Legacy Medigap policies are the most accessible and affordable policies in the state and must be maintained by keeping current statutory protections in place.  If Legacy policies are discontinued, some beneficiaries will be forced to drop coverage altogether, or go on Medicare Advantage.  Both have high out-of-pocket costs when you need health care.  Some will spend their income and assets on health care bills and be forced to enroll in Medicaid.
• Younger people with disabilities going on Medicare have no legal protections in purchasing Medigap and rely on Blue Cross Legacy policies to supplement Medicare.  People with End Stage Renal Disease, ALS, MS, and many other conditions depend on Blue Cross to sell them insurance.
• Click here for Blue Cross Bills Advocacy

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From the Executive Director

9/26/2012 11:25am

In the world of politics the focus these days is on the upcoming elections. However, after November 6 attention will shift to the Budget Control Act of 2011 and sequestration of all discretionary federal funding. Older Americans Act funding, the primary funding source for area agencies on aging, will be impacted by the sequestration.

In 2011, Congress and President Obama agreed to the Budget Control Act to address the growing federal budget deficit. Under terms of the agreement, Republicans and Democrats must identify $1.2 trillion in budget savings and/or revenue increases over the next ten years to reduce the federal deficit. Both parties must come to an agreement by the end of this calendar year.

If no agreement is reached, then all discretionary federal funding will be sequestered. That means an 8.4% across-the-board cut in defense and non-defense discretionary spending. Older Americans Act funding will be among the many, many programs to be reduced. Between $4-5 million in annual Older Americans Act funding will be lost to Michigan. The AAAWM region would lose about $350,000 which currently provides congregate meals, home delivered meals, and in-home services. In Michigan, the cuts will deny 6,000 seniors nutritional meals, including 2,500 frail homebound seniors getting meals-on-wheels.

An 8.4% funding cut will make it harder for low income older adults to stay in their own home and out of a more expensive nursing home. In the long run, taxpayers will have to pay more as an increasing number of individuals qualify for Medicaid.

This all comes at a time when senior millage funding across Michigan is declining due to decreasing property values. And the number of older adults in need of in-home assistance is growing. The number of older adults in Michigan grew by more than 20% over the past ten years. That trend will accelerate over the next ten years. Consequently, demand for services and waiting lists will continue to increase.

Please contact U. S. Senator Levin, Senator Stabenow, and your U.S Congressman by phone, fax, or email urging them to find common ground and to reach a budget deficit agreement before the end of the year. Tell them how the sequester will devastate Older Americans Act programs and the negative impact on the health and independence of older Michiganians.

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

9/20/2012 11:00am

An 8.4% cut across all federal non-entitlement programs will go into effect January 2, 2013. The cuts are automatically triggered by the 2011 Budget Control Act, resulting from  the bipartisan “Super Committee’s” inability to come to an agreement on $1.2 trillion in budget cuts. Unless Congress acts, these cuts will affect every federal program, from the military to public health and social services. Please see the information below and make calls, emails, faxes, and tweets to express your concern.

Background:

Unless Congress reverses an 8.4% across-the-board cut approved last year, all discretionary federally-funded aging network programs will lose funding beginning January 2, 2013.  The official name for this cut is “sequestration,” and it was a provision of the Budget Control Act that was passed to address the growing federal budget deficit.

Between $4-5 million in annual funding will be lost to Michigan just from the federal Older Americans Act, which provides congregate and home-delivered meals, in-home services, senior employment and other services.  Other discretionary federal programs would also be hit, including energy assistance, senior volunteer programs, and the Community Services Block Grant, which supports Community Action Agencies and helps low-income families.  A report released by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) states that the sequester would eliminate 17 million meals for needy seniors nationwide.  The sequester is taking place because a bipartisan committee failed to come up with an agreement on how to save $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

What You Can Do:

Contact your U.S. Representative and Michigan’s two U.S. Senators to express your concern about the impact of “Sequestration Cuts” on low-income seniors.  Find your U.S. Representative by going to www.house.gov and typing your zip code in the box at the top labeled “Find Your Representative.” You can also send a message directly through the website.  If you don’t have the Internet, call your local library for information.

Michigan’s U.S. Senators

• Senator Carl Levin  Ph (202) 224-6221                                F (202) 224-1388   www.levin.senate.gov
• Senator Debbie Stabenow Ph (202) 224-4822                      F (202) 228-0325 www.stabenow.senate.gov

NOTE:  Deliver messages by phone, fax or email.  Do not send a letter as mail addressed to federal officials is screened for toxins and can be delayed in the process.

Talking Points:

• When the sequester cuts take place, Michigan will lose $4-5 million in federal monies for home and community-based services for seniors through the Older Americans Act.
• The cuts will deny 6,000+ seniors nutritional meals, including 2,500 frail homebound seniors getting meals-on-wheels.  Evidence shows that poor nutrition can lead to weight loss, health problems, falls, and increased difficulty with activities of daily living.

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

8/28/2012 11:30am

Unless Congress reverses an 8.4% across-the-board cut approved last year, all discretionary federally-funded aging network programs will lose funding beginning January 2, 2013.  The official name for this cut is “sequestration,” and it was a provision of the Budget Control Act that was passed to address the growing federal budget deficit.

What You Can Do:

Contact your U.S. Representative and Michigan’s two U.S. Senators to express your concern about the impact of “Sequestration Cuts” on low-income seniors.  Find your U.S. Representative by going to www.house.gov and typing your zip code in the box at the top labeled “Find Your Representative.” You can also send a message directly through the website.  If you don’t have the Internet, call your local library for information.

Michigan’s U.S. Senators are

• Senator Carl Levin  Phone (202) 224-6221                           Fax (202) 224-1388   www.levin.senate.gov                                                        
• Senator Debbie Stabenow Phone (202) 224-4822                Fax (202) 228-0325  www.stabenow.senate.gov

NOTE:  Deliver messages by phone, fax or email.  Do not send a letter as mail addressed to federal officials is screened for toxins and can be delayed in the process.

Background:

Between $4-5 million in annual funding will be lost to Michigan just from the federal Older Americans Act, which provides congregate and home-delivered meals, in-home services, senior employment and other services.  Other discretionary federal programs would also be hit, including energy assistance, senior volunteer programs, and the Community Services Block Grant, which supports Community Action Agencies and helps low-income families.  A report released by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) states that the sequester would eliminate 17 million meals for needy seniors nationwide.  The sequester is taking place because a bipartisan committee failed to come up with an agreement on how to save $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

Talking Points:

• When the sequester cuts take place, Michigan will lose $4-5 million in federal monies for home and community-based services for seniors through the Older Americans Act.
• The cuts will deny 6,000+ seniors nutritional meals, including 2,500 frail homebound seniors getting meals-on-wheels.  Evidence shows that poor nutrition can lead to weight loss, health problems, falls, and increased difficulty with activities of daily liv

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

5/17/2012 3:30pm

Legislators will be making 2013 budget decisions soon. Please contact them regarding funding for senior programs Right now, there are home and community based programs for older adults that work and save the state and the taxpayers millions of dollars annually – but they are underfunded.

MI Choice: Long-term care at home that saves Medicaid dollars- Medicaid-funded nursing home beds cost taxpayers on average $172/day; MI Choice allows eligible people to remain at home with supports that cost on average $52/day.  There aren't enough MI Choice dollars to meet the needs of all who wish to join; 8,000 people still wait.

MI Choice Nursing Facility Transition Program (NFTI)- NFTI transitions Medicaid clients in nursing homes who want to leave but face barriers such as not having an accessible home, or needing services and supports to stay at home. Last year, over 1,600 people were transitioned; 3,000 people still wait. Proposed funding for 2013 will only fund the program for two months, yet according to Governor Snyder’s 2012 Executive Budget, NFTI has saved the state $65 million since 2008!

In-Home Services help people manage their own resources- Office of Services to the Aging (OSA) programs help older adults stay in their own homes through programs like Meals on Wheels, home and community based services, and volunteer programs.
Money for these programs has been cut 28% ($10 million) over the past few years while demand for these services has grown.

Contact these members of the Conference Committee (listed below) and urge them to fund:

$11 million to reduce the wait list for MI Choice
$23 million for the Nursing Facility Transition Program in the MI Choice budget—to meet the goal of 1,600 transitions in 2013.
$1.1 million to Office of Services to the Aging plus a 5% increase in each of the next three years. This will partially restore the $10 million in funding cuts over the past three years.

Conference Committee Members:

• Senator Roger Kahn, M.D. (866) 305-2132 senrkahn@senate.michigan.gov
• Senator John Moolenaar (517) 373-7946 senjmoolenaar@senate.michigan.gov
• Senator Vince Gregory (517) 373-7888 senvgregory@senate.michigan.gov
• Senator Glenn Anderson (866) 262-7306 senganderson@senate.michigan.gov
• Rep. Chuck Moss (877) 707-6677 chuckmoss@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Matt Lori (877) 262-5959 mattlori@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Pete MacGregor (855) 347-8073 petermacgregor@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Joe Haveman (866) 908-4347 josephhaveman@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Richard LeBlanc (888) 737-5325 richardleblanc@house.mi.gov

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

5/10/2012 4:45pm

The Nursing Facility Transition (NFT) program is in jeopardy. The Governor’s budget allocates $11 million to serve people on the MI Choice waiting list, but only $3.1 million for NFT, enough to continue the program for only two months.  This would mean over 1,000 people would be forced to remain in nursing homes when they could live in the community at a much lower cost to the state.  An additional $22 million is needed for NFT in fiscal year 2013.    

What You Can Do:

Contact these members of the Conference Committees, thank them for their past support of MI Choice and nursing facility transitions, and ask them to approve $11 million for the MI Choice waiting list and $25 million for nursing facility transitions in the MI Choice budget for FY 2013. 

• Senator Roger Kahn, M.D.   (866) 305-2132    senrkahn@senate.michigan.gov       
• Senator John Moolenaar  (517) 373-7946     senjmoolenaar@senate.michigan.gov
• Senator Vince Gregory         (517) 373-7888     senvgregory@senate.michigan.gov
• Senator Glenn Anderson      (866) 262-7306      senganderson@senate.michigan.gov
• Rep. Chuck Moss                 (877) 707-6677     chuckmoss@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Matt Lori                      (877) 262-5959    mattlori@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Pete MacGregor         (855) 347-8073     petermacgregor@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Joe Haveman  (866) 908-4347     josephhaveman@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Richard LeBlanc          (888) 737-5325    richardleblanc@house.mi.gov
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib  (877) 852-4212      rashidatlaib@house.mi.gov

Here are some talking points:

• The Nursing Facility Transition allows people to live where they choose and is cost effective, costing an average of $60/day compared with a nursing home cost of $172/day.  NFT is part of the MI Choice Medicaid home and community-based waiver.
• Last year, the transition program helped more than 1,600 people move from a nursing home back to the community with an immediate cost savings to the state.  Each person faced barriers that prevented them from returning home on their own.
• According to Governor Snyder’s 2012 Executive Budget, NFT has saved the state $65 million since 2008.
• There are 8,000 people on the MI Choice waiting list.  Individuals are forced to wait many months, even years to enter the program.

Background:

The Nursing Home Transition (NFT) is part of the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver program.  NFT is a cutting edge program that has gained national attention for successfully transitioning people in nursing homes who want to leave but face barriers.  Barriers can include losing their home, not having an accessible home, and needing services and supports to stay at home.  Last year, over 1,600 people were transitioned; data suggest that every year about 3,000 people in nursing homes are candidates for NFT.    

NFT saves the state money because it targets people on Medicaid who cost an average of $172/day in a nursing home, compared with an average of $60/day in their own home.  It is estimated that $25 million will be needed next year to transition another 1,600 people. 

Legislators are now crafting the state’s FY 2013 budget, and the final decisions will be made by joint House-Senate Conference Committees.  We need to convince committee members to approve the Governor’s request for $11 million to serve the MI Choice waiting list, and also provide the $25 million in funding necessary to transition 1,600 people from nursing homes next year.

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

2/9/2012 10:45am

Hearing on Elder Abuse Bills Scheduled for February 21

Governor Rick Snyder supports the elder abuse legislation passed by the Senate, and urged the House of Representatives to adopt the bills in his State of the State address this January.  Representative Ken Kurtz (R-Coldwater) is holding a hearing on the 14 elder abuse bills assigned to his Families, Children and Seniors Committee.  The hearing is February 21, 2012, from 10:30 am to 12 noon in the House Office Building, 124 North Capitol Avenue, in Room 327.  We need advocates to pack the room, testify, and show their support for improvements in state laws to prevent elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, and obtain justice for the victims when it occurs.

Because committee hearings are sometimes rescheduled, advocates driving to Lansing should confirm that the hearing will take place before making the trip.  To confirm, call Representative Kurtz’s office at 866-362-8812.   

What You Can Do:

You don’t have to testify to attend the hearing and lend quiet support!  If you are in the audience, you can submit a card indicating your support, which will be read by Rep. Kurtz. 

People willing to testify are encouraged to do so, of course, and can use the talking points below, or relate a personal story about elder abuse they or a relative/friend have experienced. 

Advocates who can’t attend are encouraged to call or email Rep. Kurtz (866-362-8812 or  kennethkurtz@house.mi.gov) to indicate support:

Talking Points:

• About 80,000 Michigan elders fall victim to some form of abuse each year.
• Last year, Adult Protective Services received 19,000 calls reporting abuse, up from 12,000 calls in 2000.
• 70% of abusers are ‘trusted ones,’ including spouses, children, grandchildren and friends.  Victims come from all walks of life and income classes, as witnessed by Mickey Rooney’s testimony before the Congress.
• Michigan’s high rate of unemployment is fueling the financial exploitation of the elderly.

Background:

Six years ago, a Governor-appointed Task Force of experts released a set of recommendations on addressing the growing, and mostly hidden, problem of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.  Bills addressing the problem have been introduced in every session of the Legislature since but died due to inaction by one or both houses.  Last year, a renewed effort to pass the bills started in the Michigan Senate, which passed a package of 18 bills last November. 

Taken from: Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan Advocacy Alert

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Senior Advocacy in Action Alert

11/17/2011 2:15pm

Your action is needed to help prevent elder abuse!

Five years ago, a Governor-appointed Task Force of aging experts released a set of recommendations on addressing the growing, and mostly hidden, problem of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.  Since then, many bills have been introduced, but have died due to inaction by one or both houses.  Similar bills have been introduced in 2011.  We want legislators to get the job done this year to prevent abuse and get justice for victims.  

The Senate passed a package of 18 bills in early November.  Here are a few examples:

• Senate Bill 461 would prevent an abuser from inheriting his/her victim’s assets. 
• Senate Bill 454 would allow vulnerable adults to provide videotaped testimony similar to laws protecting children from having to face their abusers. 
• Senate Bill 466 would require law enforcement to publicize a missing elder similar to the Amber Alerts used for missing children 

Fourteen (14) of these bills are now in the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee, chaired by Rep. Ken Kurtz, and the other four bills are in the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Marty Knollenberg.  The bills have to be reported out of these committees, and then be approved by the entire House before they can go to Governor Snyder for his signature.  Advocates are pushing for the bills to become law by Christmas as a present for older Michiganians. 

Whate You Can Do:

Contact the Chairmen of these two committees along with the Speaker of the House and ask that the bills be reported out of these committees as soon as possible!  Also contact your own Representative and ask him/her to advocate with Kurtz, Knollenberg and Bolger.

• Representative Ken Kurtz                   (866) 362-8812           kennethkurtz@house.mi.gov
• Representative Marty Knollenberg     (877) 248-0001           martyknollenberg@house.mi.gov     
• Speaker Jase Bolger                          (877) 265-4371           jasebolger@house.mi.gov

Here are some talking points:

• About 80,000 Michigan elders fall victim to some form of abuse each year.
• Last year, Adult Protective Services received 19,000 calls reporting abuse, up from 12,000 calls in 2000.
• 70% of abusers are ‘trusted ones,’ including spouses, children, grandchildren and friends.  Victims come from all walks of life and income classes, as witnessed by Mickey Rooney’s testimony before the Congress.
• Michigan’s high rate of unemployment is fueling the financial exploitation of the elderly.

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