Helping Maine’s seniors
Earlier this year, I attended a forum in Aroostook County hosted by Speaker Mark Eves as part of his “KeepME Home” plan to help seniors live independently in their homes and communities. This was one of many stops in a statewide initiative to pass legislation that will benefit Maine’s older adults.
During this tour, and in my work as a representative, I heard from Maine seniors who are struggling to get by due to high medical expenses, the rising cost of living and a lack of resources. Maine is the oldest state in the nation and one in four Mainers will be over the age of 65 by 2030, according to U.S. census projections.
In the Legislature, we recognize that we need to make it easier for Maine’s older adults. They have dedicated years of hard work to our state and should now be allowed to age with dignity in their communities.
A recent study conducted by the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy found that due to rising medical costs, more than one in ten Maine seniors over age 55 were living below the poverty line in 2009‚Ä“13. This is 2.3 percentage points higher than official estimates suggest.
The official poverty measure, which has been in use since the 1960s, estimates poverty rates by looking at a family’s or an individual’s cash income. The new Supplemental Poverty Measure, which the Carsey School was using, is more realistic and incorporates additional necessary expenses for items such as tax payments and work costs in its family resource estimates.
To address the issue of aging in our state, the Legislature passed a slate of initiatives to help Maine seniors, including increasing property tax relief for seniors, investing in affordable senior housing, increasing pay for direct care workers who care for seniors, providing tax credits for caregivers and preventing cuts proposed by the governor to programs that help low-income seniors pay for medicine.
Financial hardships can be a real issue for our older residents. Legislation that will go into effect next month will fund the Money Minders program which is run by Maine’s Area Agencies on Aging.
This critical program offers personal financial management assistance to older adults and helps them to maintain their independence. Many have physical disabilities such as Parkinson’s, severe arthritis or blindness that prevent them from physically writing checks. Others are widows or widowers who were never in charge of finances in their homes and need help making a budget or balancing a checkbook. Some are experiencing mild cognitive impairments but are still able to make decisions if given some support.
A new law will also take effect next month to help Maine’s Vietnam veterans receive an existing veterans’ property tax exemption. Under Maine law, veterans of recognized war periods who are either disabled or 62 years and over are eligible for the modest property tax exemption.
Under the old law, veterans of the Vietnam War era are required to have served 180 days on active duty during a specified period to qualify for the property tax exemption. The measure would remove the requirement, which does not apply to veterans of any other conflict.
Another bill we passed will help older adults transition back into their homes by making home-delivered meals reimbursable through the state’s home- and community-based services waivers. Having access to quality meals from the Meals on Wheels Program can make the transition home after being hospitalized much smoother.
There is always more work that we can do, but this session we came a long way in helping Maine’s older adults.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding state government. You can reach me at: SaucierforPI@gmail.com.
