Long-term care proposals to address quality of life for seniors

Dec. 23--Proposals addressing long-term care unveiled Monday by Minnesota House Republicans are important to Albert Lea, District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett said Tuesday.

"We already have a large senior population, so we're the trend of what's happening in Minnesota," said Bennett, R-Albert Lea.

By the end of the decade there will be more seniors in Minnesota than K-12 age students, according to a press release.

Bennett and Reps. Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne, and Tama Theis, R-St. Cloud, unveiled the Caring for the Aging, Retiring and Elderly (CARE) Act Monday, a package of proposals that will improve the quality of life for Minnesota's aging adults, according to the release.

Bennett said options will be expanded under the act, including more long-term care choices for adults.

She said other options included in the act include taking life insurance policies and allowing them to be used for long-term care, providing for a long-term care insurance rider that would be built into a life insurance policy and allowing policy benefits to be used by the policyholder for long-term care.

An insurance rider is a provision of an insurance policy that is purchased separately from the insurance policy and that provides additional benefits at an additional cost.

The act includes the phasing out of Social Security income tax, and Bennett said that's a crucial element.

"Our seniors deserve to keep more of their money so they can remain independent," Bennett said.

According to a press release, the proposed policy changes in the act will improve options in health care, financial security, housing, transportation, nutrition and careers for Minnesota's growing population of aging adults.

The CARE Act also establishes partnerships with high schools and adult basic education programs to produce more certified nursing assistant certification classes to grow the workforce. It also calls for a study of the role technology plays in improving seniors' quality of life, safety and independence.

The act is an expansion of a payment reform bill passed in the 2015 legislative session that included $138 million in new funding for Minnesota's nursing homes. The revenue from the reform bill isn't dedicated, meaning local facilities can determine how to best use the income, whether to increase staff wages, buy new equipment or make property enhancements.

The law goes into effect Jan. 1. Under the new law, nursing homes will be compensated on a cost-based formula based on their actual costs.

"House Republicans made seniors a top priority last session, and now is the time to continue building on that success," Schomacker said in the release. "The CARE Act is a package of senior-based proposals that better address the future needs of our elderly and their loved ones."

Legislation pertaining to the CARE Act is set for introduction in early 2016.

Bennett is a member of the CARE Act Legislative Working Group, which meets to discuss and explore options for Minnesota's aging adults.

Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, created the new Aging and Long-Term Care Policy Committee for the 2015-16 biennium to address emerging senior care funding and long-term care regulation issues, according to the press release.

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