Goals for State-Federal Action

The Administration on Aging and the programs authorized and funded by the Older Americans Act are extremely important to the states, their senior citizens and their families. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) strongly supports the Older Americans Act programs and believes that the services funded through this act should be both cost effective and responsive to the special needs of the elderly. NCSL appreciates the support of Congress and the Administration for the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the National Family Caregiver Support Program, and the recent reauthorization of the program in Public Law (P.L.) 109-365. 

State legislators believe that it is critical that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services implement the provisions of P.L. 109-365 in a manner consistent with the Congressional intent to give states the utmost flexibility in carrying out OAA programs.  NCSL trusts that this flexibility will be reflected in the regulations issued for these programs.

Recognizing the challenges our country faces in providing services for the increasing number of elderly citizens, NCSL urges Congress to continue its support for the programs of the Older Americans Act by appropriating sufficient funding for them, especially the National Family Caregiver Support Program.  NCSL notes that the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act expanded the definition of family caregiver, thus increasing the pool of individuals eligible for assistance through the family caregiver program.   

NCSL supports the National Family Caregiver Support program.  The program recognizes the need to support both those caring for older individuals and older individuals caring for children.  States must be given the flexibility to establish standards in this program and decide how program funds will be distributed.

Data suggest that low-income and minority senior citizens have not participated in Older American Act programs to the extent possible. NCSL supports increased efforts in the reauthorized Act to ensure that Older Americans Act programs do reach low-income, minority and rural elderly households and to inform them about services available to them under the Older Americans Act and other state and federal programs.  The creation of a National Center on Senior Benefits Outreach and Enrollment in the reauthorization legislation is a step in that direction.  The authority of state government through designated State Units on Aging should be strengthened to ensure that service funds under the Act are targeted to the most vulnerable members of the older population—the very old, the frail, the isolated and limited English-speaking individuals, with particular attention to low-income minority persons. States must have the authority to distribute these funds based on their own criteria.

NCSL believes that states should continue to be afforded considerable flexibility in the administration of the Older Americans Act. NCSL supports permitting states to transfer funds between the nutrition program and the social services program according to a state's need.  States appreciate the flexibility to transfer funds between congregate and home-delivered nutrition services.   States should also continue to be able to determine if Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)'s should directly provide services and to determine which services AAA's can provide. 

NCSL notes that the recent reauthorization put additional resources into the ombudsman program. In addition, NCSL has supported Congressional proposals to fund programs on elder abuse, home care and programs to provide special assistance to the elderly. Provisions should be developed which strengthen the capacity and expand the resources of State Units on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging.  This is critical on a wide range of elder rights issues: quality of long term care, elder abuse, consumer protection, guardianship, age discrimination and beneficiary rights in entitlement programs.  We believe that the OAA reauthorization is an important step in this direction.

The reauthorization gives states the flexibility to establish limited cost sharing requirements for certain services.  We hope this flexibility is retained in regulations.  NCSL still believes that participants with incomes below 125 percent of poverty or the federally established level of poverty, which ever is higher, should not be subject to cost sharing. Fees collected through this mechanism should provide for expanded services and increased availability of services to those elderly with the greatest economic and social need. This will also enhance the coordination and equity between OAA, the Social Services Block Grant, and state-financed programs that are often funded on a sliding fee scale.

Finally, NCSL continues to support the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and believes that Congress has established an enhanced state role by changing the proportion of funds distributed to state agencies if funds are increased above the FY2000 level.  We call for increased cooperation between the states and the national contractors. NCSL supports Congressional proposals to provide states and national contractors more flexibility on administrative costs while keeping these costs to a minimum.

Federal Policies on Aging

NCSL thanks Congress and the administration in its action to increase the earnings limit for Social Security recipients; a policy long supported by NCSL.  In addition, the current NCSL policy on Maintaining the Solvency of Social Security details NCSL’s policy positions on changes to Social Security.  NCSL urges that the Congress: (1) preserve the financial integrity of the Social Security system; (2) eliminate all forms of age discrimination against older workers;  (3) continue the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid to include reimbursement for in-home health care, with the appropriate safeguards to protect against fraud and abuse in the program, and urges HHS to continue to ensure state flexibility by allowing states the ability to serve the elderly through Home and Community Based waivers (additional NCSL policies detail NCSL's position); (4) provide funds for direct services for the elderly; (5) fund the development of integrated, coordinated, community-based continued care systems to help prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of the elderly; (6) provide additional support for gerontological research, education and training; and (7) ensure the flexibility for states to use TANF funds to support programs that serve grandparents raising grandchildren during reauthorization.