AARP Arizona 2004 State Legislative Session Wrap-Up

By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2003-10-30 16:40:00-05:00

Aging Services

During the 2004 legislative session, AARP and its Aging Network of partners were successful in averting a funding cut for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). This year, the AARP Arizona Advocacy Network will continue to alert legislators, especially those newly elected, of the great need for services that sustain frail, vulnerable, elderly individuals at home.

AARP will advocate for continued and increased funding for the range of services that the non-medical HCBS program offers. These services help families delay premature placement of their loved ones in long-term care institutions.

HCBS includes home nursing care, adult day care, respite, personal care, transportation and home-delivered meals for about 1,500 vulnerable adults in the state. The program is administered by the Area Agencies on Aging and funded through the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

ALTCS/AHCCCS

The prospect of flat state revenues and budget cuts for social and health services in the coming fiscal year are again raising the specter of service restrictions to essential programs that serve medically needy, eligible seniors. AARP Arizona will work to defeat any proposals that would seriously affect eligibility levels or quality of service delivery to the many frail, vulnerable elderly served by the Arizona Long Term Care Services (ALTCS) under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). AHCCCS is the state Medicaid program for the indigent.

AARP will be at the forefront of this issue to make sure that AHCCCS eligibility requirements are sustained and that quality of services are maintained.

Elder Abuse

AARP will make quality of care in Arizona nursing homes and other long-term care settings a priority this session. AARP's goal is to help ensure that appropriate quality services are efficiently and effectively provided across all settings, including in the home and in institutions.

Last year, AARP helped defeat a bill that would have severely undermined the protections afforded vulnerable individuals under the Arizona Adult Protective Services statute and would have threatened their rights to redress in cases of elder abuse. A similar effort may be put forth this year. AARP will continue to work to ensure that the provisions of the Adult Protective Services Act are secure and provide the protections that frail, vulnerable individuals need and are entitled to, especially those living in long-term care institutions.

Predatory Lending

AARP will work with the Arizona Attorney General's office, lawmakers and the lending industry to propose legislation that offers better consumer protections against predatory lenders.

AARP opposes predatory lending practices that are common in sub-prime lending and believes increased consumer protections are needed to better regulate this aspect of the lending industry. AARP is hopeful an anti-predatory lending bill will pass this year. Many seniors who are house rich but cash poor—along with low- and mid-income people whose access to first-rate credit is often restricted—are frequently victims of abusive lending practices.

Fiduciary Certification Program

AARP Arizona will be active in efforts to improve the effective and efficient oversight of fiduciaries in the state, including lobbying the Arizona Legislature for increased funding for the Arizona Fiduciary Certification Program.

A fiduciary is defined by Arizona state law as a person appointed by an Arizona Superior Court judge to serve as a guardian, conservator or personal representative for a person unrelated to the fiduciary. AARP will work with the court and will advocate at the Arizona Legislature for increased funding to improve oversight of fiduciaries.

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