Aarp Leader Gives Lawmakers Barely Passing C-

Washington’s older citizens did not fare well in the 1996 state Legislature.

“This was not our year,” sums up the American Association of Retired Persons’ political action leader for Eastern Washington.

“Affordable long-term care was our No. 1 priority this session,” reports Frank Yuse, chairman of AARP/VOTE for the 5th Congressional District. “But we certainly are no closer now to that goal than we were before.”

Other AARP priorities:

Property tax relief for low-income seniors - a crisis issue in Spokane, where the lingering effects of escalating home prices and tax assessments in recent years continue to drive older citizens out of their homes.

Increased consumer protections against fraud targeting older and more vulnerable citizens.

Affordable housing.

Resurrection of 1993 health care reforms. “Dismantling of the ‘93 reforms was a severe setback for health care,” said Yuse. “And we’d like to see the reform act make a comeback.” Instead, insurance industry lobbyists continue to block broader coverage and better costs.

“We saw no accomplishments to speak of in any of these areas,” said Yuse. “Overall, we wouldn’t give this batch of lawmakers more than a C-minus.”

On the plus side, Sen. John Moyer introduced legislation to help subsidize prescription drugs for low-income Medicare recipients. This bill, too, didn’t pass. But it was “converted” into a study by the State Health Care Policy Board on what the subsidy would cost.

“The board will report to the Legislature in January,” the Spokane physician told me. “We’re running into many people on very limited incomes who are paying $150 and $200 a month for drugs to help keep them out of hospitals, and Medicare does not cover this cost.

“But we’ll get it done next year,” he promised.

Moyer also endorsed property tax relief “based on income” for older homeowners. “I personally know people losing the homes they have owned for 30 and 40 years,” he said, “because they can’t continue to keep up with these tax hikes. We must freeze property taxes for lower-income seniors until they die or leave their homes - that’s the goal.”

The chief lobbyist for dozens of seniors organizations statewide says this Legislature was more about process and less about people. “There was little concern for the problems of people; there was great concern about tax breaks for business,” said Evan Iverson of the Senior Lobby.

“Also, a huge effort was made to virtually abolish the state insurance commissioner’s rule-making authority to curb insurance abuses and protect consumers. This would have a profound impact.”

The bill passed the Republican dominated House. Iverson warns, “It will be back.”

Turning to a final item, AARP’s Yuse personally asked lawmakers to address the “Todd Mielke situation” which saw an elected representative switch sides overnight from insurance lawmaker to insurance lobbyist.

Yuse asked legislator Jean Silver, as Spokane’s senior Republican representative, to introduce legislation to prevent a repeat of this. “As far as I know, she did nothing,” says Yuse. “I think she had her own problems - missing 124 votes, as the (Spokesman-Review) newspaper brought up.”

Yuse also pressed the issue at a town hall meeting conducted by State Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn two months ago in Spokane. “We (the AARP) feel it’s unconscionable for all these insurance company lobbyists to be in the room with lawmakers drafting bills,” said Yuse. “It’s unjustifiable. It’s unethical.” That drew a round of applause.

It was also felt, said the AARP official, that for Mielke to take the lead role in undoing the 1993 act providing health care for all Washington citizens, and then “jump ship in midterm to Johnson & Johnson (health care company) for a much more lucrative job was terribly unethical.

“We would like,” Yuse told Senn, “to see the commissioner order someone to present a bill to the Legislature to see that this never happens again - that at least we have a one to three-year holdout during which a person cannot go from being a lawmaker to a lobbyist.”

Senn said she would see to it “first thing.”

It was another thing that fell through the cracks.

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes on retirement issues each Sunday. He can be reached with ideas for future columns at 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review