Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

February 8, 2007 issue

Senior Tar Heel Legislature Identifies 2007 Priorities

Story by Kathleen McFadden

North Carolina seniors have a group watching out for their interests in Raleigh—the Senior Tar Heel Legislature, an organization created by the General Assembly in 1993.

Each county in North Carolina is entitled to one delegate, 60 years of age or older, to the Senior Legislature and one alternate. Watauga County’s delegate is Boone Town Council member Bunk Spann. Pat Coley, who recently retired from the Department of Social Services, serves as the county’s alternate. Avery County’s delegate is Rachel Deal, with Bea Daniels serving as alternate.

Both Spann and Coley gave a presentation to the Watauga County Board of Commissioners on Monday to provide some history and context for the Senior Legislature’s activities and to identify the group’s legislative priorities for 2007.

The purpose of the Senior Tar Heel Legislature is to provide information to the state’s seniors about the legislative process and matters being considered in the General Assembly, to promote citizen involvement and advocacy concerning aging issues and to assess the legislative needs of older citizens.

Each legislative session, the Senior Legislature presents three to five priority recommendations to the General Assembly. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the Senior Legislature has submitted approximately 50 recommendations to the General Assembly and most have generated positive legislative action.

For 2007, the Senior Tar Heel Legislature is sending the following priorities to Raleigh.

• Increase funding for home- and community-based services for older adults by increasing the Home and Community Care Block Grant by $5 million.

Home- and community-based services such as home-delivered meals, adult day care, in-home aides and respite care for family caregivers help impaired older adults stay in their homes. Those in particular need are the more than 125,000 adults age 85 and older in the state and those who are disabled. As of October 2006, more than 10,700 people were on the waiting list for Home and Community Care Block Grant services.

• Increase funding for senior centers by $634,684 for a total of $2 million per year.

A total of 163 senior centers are currently operational or under development in 97 counties. Without additional funding, many centers will remain short-staffed and will be unable to increase their services, activities, space and operating hours.

• Shift the cost of Medicaid for counties to the state.

Counties currently contribute $450 million annually to pay for Medicaid benefits, a significant economic burden.

• Provide prescription drug assistance for low-income person age 65 and over.

Because of significant gaps in service, the Senior Legislature recommends that the state reinstitute a program to serve as a wrap-around for the Medicare Part D program to be used for persons 65 and older who are not eligible for the full federal extra-help subsidy, for people whose income is not more than 175 percent of the federal poverty level and for people who need assistance during the so-called doughnut hole coverage period of Medicare Part D.

• Provide dental care for older adults with special needs and in rural areas.

The Senior Legislature recommends a $1.35 million allocation for the Office of Rural Health and Community Care to recruit dentists for underserved areas in the state, including dentists who would provide care in long-term care facilities.