Seniors Get Update On Healthcare Legislation

By Jan Howard

State Rep Julia Wasserman (R-106 District) presented an overview of legislation of interest to senior citizens during a “Healthy at Any Age” Breakfast & Learn program on March 21 sponsored by Ashlar of Newtown at Lockwood Lodge.

Several of the bills being considered by the Legislature this session are of specific interest to senior citizens, Mrs Wasserman said.

One of the major issues to be considered is managed health care, about which the Legislature has received many complaints, she noted.

The Legislature is considering a very comprehensive managed care bill, Mrs Wasserman said, “to make the plans more accountable.”

She said an Office of Managed Care Ombudsman would “assist people with specific problems or complaints. We’re considering funding to get the new office up and running. Their job is to handle complaints about managed care.”

Mrs Wasserman provided a handout, Consumer Guide to Managed Care Plans for Medicare Beneficiaries. She said that under Medicare choices, senior citizens have a choice of staying with the traditional Medicare plan or changing to a Medicare Managed Care Plan. “You need to make sure your physician is in the managed care system,” she noted.

Another issue is long-term care, Mrs Wasserman said.

The Legislature is considering several new initiatives, she said, to provide an alternative to nursing home care.

“Home health care allows people to stay in their homes,” she said. However, she noted, if people exceed income limits, they can’t participate in the current Connecticut plan.

She said new legislation being considered would allow senior citizens exceeding income limits to buy into the home health care program. “It may take place this year,” she said.

Mrs Wasserman said the issue is “critical.” She said other states have more advanced home health care programs for seniors than Connecticut does.

“This is an issue for every taxpayer,” Mrs Wasserman said. “Nursing home care is the single largest item in the state budget. It will grow as baby boomers grow older and need care.”

She said senior citizens have a better quality of life staying in their homes and with their families, but there is a cost to the family for taking care of the senior citizen.

“There has to be some help in that area,” she said.

For help in paying for long-term care insurance costs, Mrs Wasserman said there are various kinds of assistance, “but it’s still far from good.”

She said another major issue the state is wrestling with is the financial condition of the state’s hospitals, which have been struggling with low reimbursement from insurance plans.

“It’s not a problem we can solve in Hartford,” she said. “They need relief from Washington.”

Other Questions

In addition to health care issues, Mrs Wasserman replied to questions and concerns about cell phones, inheritance taxes, heating oil costs, and Fairfield Hills.

“Someone recommended that it be mandated that phones be installed so they don’t have to be picked up,” she said.

“I don’t like to vote for a bill that is hard to enforce,” she said in answer to a suggestion that drivers using cell phones be required to pull off the road during the call.

A Contingency Heating Assistance Program has been approved and is ongoing to address the high cost of heating oil, she said.

The program provides a one-time benefit of $300 to households within income limits. The benefit is available only to households that have not already received assistance, and is paid to the heating oil dealer.

“The program is meant to be expanded to senior citizens and others not getting help with heating oil this year,” Mrs Wasserman said.

The Contingency Heating Assistance Program is funded with $11.9 million from the federal government in response to the increase in home heating oil prices this winter.

  For information on the program, contact Infoline at 211 or the Social Services Department at Town Hall. The deadline for applications is April 28.

Mrs Wasserman, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said this year’s legislative session is the shortest since 1972. It began February 9, and will end on May 3, allowing exactly 12 weeks, she noted. She said the first half of the session has been devoted to writing the bills.

The committee sessions are almost complete, she said. About 1,500 to 1,700 bills must be considered within four weeks.

Mrs Wasserman’s program was one of a series of educational lectures presented free of charge for the community. The “Healthy at Any Age” series is designed to bring the latest information about health care decisions, living well, and how one’s lifestyle can make a difference. The series will run through May.

To learn about upcoming programs, contact Hilda DeLucia at 364-3127.