ElderWeb

The Federal Election Commission has created a National Voter Registration Form which is accepted by most states for registration of voters. This form could be used by organizations serving older adults who wish to provide voter registration capabilities, or by individuals who have transportation or mobility problems which make it hard to get out of the house. By using this form to register and then applying for absentee ballots, homebound seniors would be able to continue to participate in the election process by doing everything by mail.

The National Voter Registration Form is accepted by all states, except: North Dakota does not have voter registration; Wyoming, by State law, cannot accept the National Form; Mississippi will accept the Form to register individuals for Federal elections only; and New Hampshire town and city clerks will accept the National Form only as a request for their own mail-in voter registration form.

Unfortunately, there is no national program for absentee ballots. However, the Federal Voting Assistance Program provides a list of state election Web sites, most of which provide contact name and phone numbers or other information about absentee ballots.

The Australian government is expecting a cash surplus of $1.5 billion in 2001-02, the fifth surplus in a row and the longest run of cash surpluses in almost 30 years. One response to this surplus are a number of initiatives targeted at seniors. The new budget includes a payment of $300 for people of Age Pension age who receive income support or are outside the taxation and social security system, an increase in the effective tax-free threshold for people of Age Pension age, an increase in income thresholds for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, and extension of the telephone allowance and other concessions to all holders of a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. In addition superannuation assets will be exempted from social security means tests for people aged between 55 years and the Age Pension age, and a payment of $25,000 will be made to Australian Defence Force Prisoners of War of the Japanese, civilian internees and detainees of the Japanese or their surviving spouses.

Arkansas HB1635 has been enrolled as Act 1230, The Arkansas Assisted Living Act. This bill creates a new type of facility in the state, to be called assisted living facilities, for people who need nursing home care, but who do not require 24-hour nursing. The Department of Human Services is instructed to create a rules and regulations to license such facilities. The Department is also instructed to apply for a waiver of the Medicaid rules to allow residents who qualify for Medicaid to be covered in assisted living facilities, in addition to nursing homes. The bill also allows residential care facilities to convert to assisted living facilities.

The New York State Assembly approved a budget which restored $132 million in payments to nursing homes and home health providers which Governor George Pataki had cut in his proposed budget. The Assembly plan also adds $100 million in new funding to address nursing home quality of care and staffing issues, and rejects the Governor?s proposal to cut $34.5 million in state support from the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program ? which provides eligible seniors with affordable prescription medications. Assembly leaders noted that the Division of the Budget has now projected that there will be an additional $3 billion in revenues available over the amount originally forecast, leaving plenty of room to fund senior-related programs.

Ohio Governor Bob Taft announced the establishment of the Ohio Public Health Priorities Trust Fund, which will manage the proceeds of Ohio's tobacco settlement money. He stated that $1 million of those funds would be set aside to cover medications and oxygen costs for low-income seniors who have suffered from the use of tobacco.

Washington Governor Gary Locke has proposed significant changes in funding for long term care in next year's budget. The proposed budget would cut $12 million from nursing home payments, and save $10 million by eliminating or reducing adult day care services and chore services, then plow $16 million of the savings into expanded home and community-based services for the elderly and invest $3.5 million in a pilot program to create boarding homes for dementia patients and add $5 million for home health services for people at risk for nursing home care. The Washington Health Care Association, an organization of nursing home providers, has called on legislators to reject this budget.

Texas' chapter of the Silver Hair Legislature has set up a Web site to support their membership. This Silver Hair Legislature was formed in 1979 to help older Americans make their voices heard in the halls of American government. The new Texas site includes recent articles about issues important to the members, calendars of events and email newsletters.

Congress nearly unanimously reauthorized the Older Americans Act (HR 782), five years after the original act expired. The bill now goes to President Clinton, who is expected to sign it. This bill, among other things, would create a Family Caregiver Support program funded by both federal and state money which would provide:

* information to caregivers about available services
* assistance to caregivers in gaining access to the services
* individual counseling, organization of support groups, and caregiver training to caregivers to assist the caregivers in making decisions and solving problems relating to their caregiving roles
* respite care to enable caregivers to be temporarily relieved from their caregiving responsibilities
* supplemental services, on a limited basis, to complement the care provided by caregivers

The bill also allows states to require consumers to contribute to the cost of the programs they use, if they are able to do so, and creates a number of grants for innovation projects that would improve the delivery of information and services to older Americans.

New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) and the (National) Long Term Care Campaign are working together in an effort to raise long term care issues on a local level. Recently, the two organizations sponsored a Long Term Care meeting bringing together organizations throughout the state interested in raising these issues with the candidates before the November 2000 elections. The groups concluded that education is the first step. NJ's voters need to know "What is Long Term Care" and then we can address the problems of long term care. NJCA will mail information pamphlets on long term care to anyone who wants them to be disseminated by you to staff members, consumers, and others you believe are concerned about this issue. Please contact NJCA 732-246-4772.

Principal sponsors of the Campaign include the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Alzheimer's Association, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The Long Term Care Campaign is a coalition of 147 national organizations dedicated to enacting comprehensive legislation to protect American families against the devastating costs of long term care. The Campaign also works to defend long term care Medicaid, which pays for about half of our nation's long term care.

Missouri Senator Joe Maxwell, now running for Lieutenant Governor, urged members of the Silver Haired Legislature to support the creation of a Department of Aging. The Division of Aging of the Department of Social Services now handles senior and aging issues. Missouri voters rejected an attempt to create a separate Department of Aging in 1996.