The second meeting of the Special Advisory Commission of Senior Citizens convened on Thursday, November 2, 2000, at 1:00 PM, in the Ballroom of the Holiday Inn Capital Plaza Hotel in Frankfort. Dr. Abby Marlatt, Chair, called the meeting to order.
Present were:
Guests: Representative Adrian Arnold; B.G. (Ret.) Les Beavers, Kentucky Department of Veterans’ Affairs; Representative Carolyn Belcher; Senator Tom Buford; Michael Childress, The Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center; Ron Crouch, Kentucky State Data Center; Representative Gippy Graham; Senator Marshall Long; Representative Charlie Siler; Representative Kathy Stein; Representative Susan Westrom; and Jerry Whitley, Office of Aging Services, Cabinet for Health Services.
LRC Staff: Anne Armstrong, Barbara Baker, Emily Bottoms, Janice Clark, Gerard Donovan, C. Gilmore Dutton, Sally Everman, Greg Freedman, Jamie Griffin, Linda Hughes, Kathy King, Louis Pierce, Cindy Smith, John Snyder, Ellen Steinberg, Matt Trebelhorn, and Rose Mack, Secretary.
Chairperson Marlatt sadly announced that a newly appointed member, Mr. George Ellerkamp, who was appointed by the Joint Executive Council of Veterans Organizations of Kentucky, passed away in October. The November meeting would have been Mr. Ellerkamp’s first meeting of the Commission.
Chairperson Marlatt introduced the following new Commission members:
Ms. Mildred Goodlett, appointed by the KIPDA Area Development District;
Mr. James Halvatgis, appointed by the Joint Executive Council of Veterans Organizations of Kentucky;
Mr. Edgar Jamison, appointed by the Joint Executive Council of Veterans Organizations of Kentucky;
Ms. Louise Kirk, appointed by the Big Sandy Area Development District; and
Ms. Betty Whitehead, appointed by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District.
Chairperson Marlatt also recognized the following new members who were not able to attend the meeting:
Mr. Doug Littrell and Mr. John Mander, appointed by the Joint Executive Council of Veterans Organizations of Kentucky.
Mr. Gilmore Dutton, Commission Staff Coordinator, introduced the following panelists who participated in a panel discussion on “Senior Citizen Isuses Likely to Come Before the Kentucky General Assembly During the First Decade of the New Millennium”:
Mr. Michael Childress, Executive Director of the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center;
Mr. Ron Crouch, Director of the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville; and
Mr. Jerry Whitley, Director of the Office of Aging in the Cabinet for Health Services.
A declining population in the “prime working ages” of 25 to 55, the high percentage of family members who serve as caregivers for the elderly, and the reliance upon social security by a substantial number of senior citizens as their major source of income were cited as major issues confronting today’s society.
Following the panel discussion, Chairperson Marlatt adjourned the opening general session to allow the subcommittees to convene. She announced that the dinner session would commence at 6 PM.
Chairperson Marlatt convened the dinner session and introduced the evening’s legislative hosts as follows:
Representative Adrian Arnold,
Representative Carolyn Belcher,
Senator Tom Buford,
Representative Gippy Graham,
Senator Marshall Long,
Representative Charlie Siler,
Representative Kathy Stein, and
Representative Susan Westrom.
The Commission members were addressed by B.G. (Ret.) Les Beavers, Commissioner, Department of Veterans’ Affairs. General Beavers said that the mission of the Department was to “serve those who have served the Commonwealth and our great nation.” Health care and nursing homes and cemeteries dedicated to veterans are major concerns for many of the 350,000 veterans who are citizens of the state. General Beavers’ presentation was timely, because this meeting was the first meeting attended by members appointed by the Joint Executive Council of Veterans Organizations of Kentucky, which was selected by the Commission to replace the Kentucky Association of Older Persons as one of the Commission’s four statewide organizations having an affiliation with the Commission.
Chairperson Marlatt concluded the dinner session with the announcement that the subcommittees would convene at 8:30 AM the next morning, Friday, November 3, 2000.
After the conclusion of subcommittee meetings on Friday, November 3, 2000, the closing general session was convened by Chairperson Marlatt at 10:30 AM.
The following subcommittee reports were adopted by the Commission:
Subcomittee on Consumer Affairs
(as reported by Mr. Finnell Fields, Subcommittee Chair)
The Subcommitee on Consumer Affairs heard testimony from Ms. Alice Delambre, Assistant Director, Office of Aging Services in the Cabinet for Health Services. Ms. Delambre covered the program framework for aging services in Kentucky, which includes The Older Americans Act of 1965, the State Unit on Aging, Area Agency on Aging, Service Providers, Adult Day/Alzheimer’s Disease Respite Program, and several other programs. She explained that requests for state funding for these programs is in direct competition with other vital programs.
Following Ms. Delambre’s presentation, Mr. Kip Bowmar, Executive Director of the Kentucky Association for Community Action (KACA), gave a presentation on the Low Income Energy Assistance Program and weatherization and other utility conservation programs. He explained that because of reduction in federal monies KACA has advocated to the Public Service Commission and the General Assembly for a Universal Service Fund to help fund low income energy affordability.
Next, the Subcommittee began the process of reviewing their recommendations for the 2002 General Assembly. These recommendations were:
(1) Endorse the Attorney General’s Legislative Package, which includes theft by deception and telemarketing;
(2) Increased appropriation for Office of Aging Programs;
(3) Appropriate additional money to support TRIAD Programs;
(4) Continue to study Volunteer Service Banking;
(5) Support Universal Service Fund Legislation; and
(6) An appropriation for Senior Citizen drug co-payments.
Subcomittee on Health and Human Services
(as reported by Mr. Joe Bishop, Subcommittee Chair)
Members of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee identified health issues across the state. Many of these issues related to the need for the consumer to have options and choice in their long-term care. After further deliberation, two major recommendations were adopted, and three issues were selected for the Subcommittee to continue to discuss in order to formulate specific recommendations at its May, 2001, meeting.
The Subcommittee approved the following recommendations:
(1) To support additional expansion and funding for a true continuum of community-based care, including homecare, caregiver support, senior centers, assisted living, adult day care, and hospice and other programs that allow individuals to remain in community-type living as long as possible; and
(2) Increase nursing home beds according to individual county needs.
Issues for further consideration by the Health and Human Services Subcommittee were:
(1)
Increase resident/staff ratio;
(2) Prescription drug cost, purchasing groups, price control; and
(3) Strengthen patient’s rights.
The Subcommittee also requested that the Subcommittee on Insurance consider the issue of controlling the cost of long-term care insurance.
Subcomittee on Insurance
(as reported by Mr. Thomas Bullington, Subcommittee Chair)
The Subcommittee on Insurance voted for the following recommendations to be submitted to the Kentucky General Assembly:
(1) Recommend that the General Assembly and the Department of Insurance be encouraged to continue efforts to increase the affordability of health insurance in Kentucky at affordable premiums; and
(2) To request that the Kentucky General Assembly adopt a resolution to be sent to the United States Congress encouraging Congress to address the high cost of prescription drugs.
Subcomittee on Taxation
(as reported by Mr. Winford Holt, Subcommittee Chair)
The Subcommittee on Taxation agreed that this session was truly an informative and interesting session. Testimony was heard from Senator Richie Sanders, who represents the 9th Senate District, and is the Senate Chair of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee.
Senator Sanders discussed the biennial budget enacted by the General Assembly in the 2000 Regular Session. He talked about some recent changes in tax law. He also said that he expected that the Governor would propose comprehensive tax reform soon, and that when that happens, all issues of tax fairness will be on the table. After his presentation, Senator Sanders and the Subcommittee engaged in a lengthy and productive discussion on a variety of tax issues.
The Subcommittee also heard testimony from Ms. Linda Sheets, Kentucky Revenue Cabinet, on Kentucky’s inheritance tax. She discussed the differences between the tax and Class A, B, and C beneficiaries. She also explained the estate tax pick-up.
Finally, Ms. Bonnie Lee, Kentucky Revenue Cabinet, spoke about tax credits for those who care for the elderly in their homes to discourage placement in nursing homes. She explained that there are different ways to enact the credit, and it is important to decide who should get the credit and how it should work.
Next, the Subcommittee began the process of reviewing the Subcommittee’s recommendations for the 2002 General Assembly. The three recommendations were:
(1) That the General Assembly consider enacting legislation to reform the tax system to achieve a system which is fair, which is not detrimental to economic growth, which compares favorably with surrounding states, which is administratively reasonable, and which yields adequate revenue for state government, including legislation to:
(a) Eliminate the status of married filing separately on a combined return and double the standard deduction for married filing jointly;
(b) Eliminate the 740-S form; and
(c) Eliminate income tax filing requirements for anyone below the federal poverty level.
(2) That the General Assembly enact legislation requiring that tax credits be given to the family member who cares for the elderly in either of their homes to discourage placement in nursing homes.
(3) Eliminate the inheritance tax on Class B and Class C beneficiaries and retain the federal estate tax pick-up.
Subcomittee on Transportation
(as reported by Mr. Jack Golden, Subcommittee Chair)
The Subcommittee on Transportation heard testimony from Dr. Dan Roenker, Professor of Psychology and Director for the Center for Research on Aging, at Western Kentucky University. Dr Roenker is currently involved in a study entitled “The Useful Field of View” (UFOV). The Federally funded study measures the visual area over which an individual can process information, which, in turn, identifies individuals more likely of having an at-fault auto accident.
Dr. Roenker said that studies found that senior citizens are among the best seeing drivers in the United States, because they have routine eye examinations and take care of their vision. The study has revealed that it is not a person’s vision, but rather their ability to rapidly identify what their eyes have seen and process that information in their brain, that plays a major role in a person’s driving ability.
Dr. Roenker said that individuals with a significant reduction (greater than 40 percent) in their UFOV are more than twice as likely to be involved in an at-fault crash in the next three years. It is estimated that 35 percent of people age 65-70 have such a reduction in their field of view; and for persons aged 76-80, the percentage increases to 85 percent. The study is currently offering training to those individuals who are at risk; and according to Dr. Roenker, the effects of the training seem to last for a number of years after a person has gone through a training session. The time involved for the training session various from a couple of hours to several weeks.
Next, the Subcommittee began the process of reviewing the Subcommittee’s recommendations for the 2002 General Assembly. The four recommendations were:
(1) Continue to encourage and support the expansion of the Transportation Cabinet’s program to coordinate human services transportation delivery to include aging services, and continue to encourage the Office on Aging to explore ways in which the aging network might benefit from accessing the coordinated transportation system;
(2) Require a visual acuity screening for all drivers at the time they renew their drivers’ licenses. This requirement may be met by having an eye examination performed by a qualified medical professional within six months of the time of renewal;
(3) Encourage the development of statewide volunteer programs to test older drivers to determine reduction in visual field and to train drivers to improve their visual field; and
(4) Strongly encourage legislation adopting a primary seat belt law.
The Transportation Subcommittee strongly recommended that the Legislative Research Commission’s Interim Joint Committee on Transportation and Seniors, Military Affairs and Public Safety, and the Area Directors on Aging hear Dr. Roenker’s presentation on the “Useful Field of View.”
Chairperson Marlatt announced that the next meeting of the Special Advisory Commission of Senior Citizens will be May 10-11, 2001, at the Holiday Inn Capital Plaza in Frankfort. There being no further business, Dr. Marlatt adjourned the meeting at 11:37 AM.