Jason Maciejewski (00:00):
Welcome to Inside The Senior Alliance, a podcast exploring resources and issues in the field of aging. I’m Jason Maciejewski, CEO at The Senior Alliance, the Area Agency on Aging, serving Western Wayne County in the downriver area. Joining me today is Dave LaLumia, Executive Director of the Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan, Stephanie Hall, Planning and Advocacy Director at AgeWays, Area Agency on Aging, and Emma Case, Planning and Advocacy Manager here at The Senior Alliance. Welcome everyone.
Group (00:30):
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Jason Maciejewski (00:32):
Alright, Dave, we are here in early 2025, and I think we should probably start by looking back at the end of 2024 and the lame duck session that the state legislature at least tried to hold. You know, coming out of that lame duck session or maybe looking back at it, what do you see the impact of that year end process on aging related policies and issues?
Dave LaLumia (00:58):
Well, thanks Jason. And I think this year, or the end of last year, the lame duck session really lived up to its name. It was one of the lamest lame duck sessions in recent memory. And there were so many bills that were on the house calendar that were passed and ready to move out over to the Senate or be considered by the House that they never got to. There were a number of those issues that would have an impact on age-related policies. There was a package of bills that addressed reforms to the guardianship system, which we had been supporting. There was another package of bills that addressed elder abuse issues. There was a package of bills that would provide protection for seniors and others who were unable to pay their water bills. And there was a supplemental, which was supposed to run that had authorization to spend some federal funds that have been sent to Michigan for home and community-based services and those never were enacted. So all in all, it was a disappointing session and it certainly had an impact on services for older adults and people with disabilities in the areas that I just mentioned.
Jason Maciejewski (02:11):
There were certainly a lot of bills that got left on the table, left on the floor that didn’t make it through, that we invested a lot of time and effort into. And you kind of ran through the list there. You know, that ARPA piece, the American Rescue Plan Act dollars that were supposed to be in the supplemental budget at the end of 2024, you know, that’s going to carry over into 2025 because that supplemental needs to get through. There’s definitely ARPA money in there for home and community based services for the aging network. So that’s going to carry over into this year. Did any of the bills that died at the end of 24, do you see them coming back here in 2025?
Dave LaLumia (02:47):
I think so. And I believe all those, the bills, the guardianship bills, the elder abuse and the water protection package, I believe are going to be reintroduced. So they’ll start over in either the House or the Senate, wherever they were introduced last year. And so we’ll have a chance to review those and to weigh in on them and hopefully they’ll get some traction with the new legislature.
Jason Maciejewski (03:10):
Yeah, hopefully we can build upon the success that we had in moving them partially through the process last year and get them across the finish line in this session. But Stephanie, we’ve got some new members coming into the State House. The Senate wasn’t up for election in 24, they’re up in 26, but we’ve got some new members of the State House here in The Senior Alliance service area. We’ve got Rylee Linting in the downriver area who’s a new member of the legislature. In the beginning of 2024, we had Peter Herzberg from Westland fill a vacancy left by Kevin Coleman who went on to be the mayor of Westland. So we don’t have too many new members in our service area, but I know in the AgeWays service area, which is the six counties that surround Wayne County, you’ve got a few. Morgan Foreman out of Pittsfield Township in Washtenaw County, Ron Robinson out of Utica, and Jason Woolford out of Howell in Livingston. So when it comes to these new members coming in there’s not the volume of new members that we’ve seen in the past and other term limit years, but what kind of impact do you think new members are going to have on the policy discussions going on?
Stephanie Hall (04:13):
Yeah, yeah, thanks Jason. Yeah, in our region we have about a handful, so not too bad compared to other years, but yeah, with any new reps coming in, just like when there’s new senators, I mean, it gives some new insights, brings some new opinions, thoughts to the discussion, which is always good, kind of getting some fresh faces on some things. It also gives us as AgeWays as other Area Agencies on Aging, the opportunity to reintroduce, or I guess introduce ourselves to new legislators, share what we do, connect them to all the programs and services that we offer, share information about how to support older adults and really just share our policy priorities. So, you know, we kind of have the range of knowledge in the house with people who have been around a little bit, know our services, are well familiar with us, and then some of those new people. So really it just gives some like new insights, thoughts, opinions. They might have some – aging might be one of their interests and we can kind of grab onto them and, and get them on our side.
Jason Maciejewski (05:15):
We’ve certainly got some members of the legislature who are interested in aging issues that have been there. And a large part of building relationships is just educating them on our issues. A lot of legislators get up there and they’re, maybe they’re single issue background people. Maybe they came off a school board or like in the case of Jason Woolford off County Commission and you know, they don’t have the breadth of experience and knowledge and part of our role there is to educate them. So we got a little bit of work ahead of us here in 2025 with that. But Dave, when you think about the top issues or policies that impact older adults this year, what will our state association, Area Agency on Aging Association in Michigan, which we’ll refer to as 4AM after this, what will 4AM be focusing on in 2025?
Dave LaLumia (05:59):
Yeah, I think our primary focus in 25 is going to be on the MI Choice program. And you know, MI Choice is a great program that is aimed at keeping people in their own homes, supporting them there and trying to delay or avoid, if at all, possible admission to a nursing facility or other structured institutional setting. We’ve had issues with MI Choice rates being inadequate and number one, they didn’t keep up with the inflation that we’ve seen over the last couple years. And number two, the participants in the MI Choice Program have required more supports than participants in the past, the acuity of illness and disability has been increasing rapidly and the rates haven’t kept up with neither the inflation nor the, the acuity. So there are some other issues with MI Choice that we’re going to be focusing on how to cope with the increasing acuity and having a risk pool that is adequately funded that will help out waiver providers who experience participants with great need. And there are some other administrative issues that we will be addressing as well. But you know, overall MI Choice is going to be our top priority. We’re certainly going to continue to pay attention to issues related to the direct care workforce and to supporting family and informal caregivers. And as you mentioned Jason, we are going to be strong supporters of the FY 25 supplemental appropriation bill, which includes that federal funding for home and community-based services.
Jason Maciejewski (07:34):
Yeah, I think MI Choice being the focus for the year is really critical for us. I think when you look at the program for many of the reasons you outlined Dave, it’s a different program in terms of the population that we’re serving than it really was pre pandemic with the spike in acuity that we’re seeing specifically in southeast Michigan on MI Choice and the inflation that’s occurred and the cost of the vendor network and direct care workers. So major, major focus for us in 25. And again, something there’s a lot of education needed when you talk about Medicaid with a lot of legislators who might not have a background in that. So big focus for us this year. So thanks for talking through that. I want to turn to the policy side here, Stephanie and Speaker, Matt Hall, who’s from Marshall. He’s reportedly going to be combining two committees that existed in the previous session, the committee that we work a lot with the Children, Families and Seniors Committee. He’s actually going to be reportedly combining it with the Veterans Military and Homeland Security Committee into a much larger committee. What is your take on that potential combination of policy committees?
Stephanie Hall (08:38):
Yeah, I’ll share both. Positive and negative. Knee-jerk reaction tends to be when committees like this are combined, a lot more voices, a lot more opinions, a lot more thoughts that could be positive. It could bring some new opinions, thoughts, insights, individuals who are on the Veterans Committee could have some thoughts related to children, families, and seniors especially because there does tend to be decent amount of crossover with veteran services, older adult services. So that could be a positive, but of course, knee-jerk reaction once you combine these two, it could potentially lessen the influence of the Children, Families and Seniors Committee and the individuals that are on that committee. Like Jason said, we work really closely with this committee and we have good relationships. We’re involved a lot with this committee. So I guess the worry is that by combining these, their voices may get smaller and in turn our voices might get a little bit smaller in this.
Jason Maciejewski (09:35):
That is the risk of combining a lot of policy issues into one big committee. And we should note that Speaker Hall has not announced committee assignments yet for 2025, aside from some key appropriation spots. We know that Representative Bollin out of Brighton is the chair of the Full Appropriations Committee. We do know that Ranjeev Puri from Canton in our service area here at The Senior Alliance is the minority leader in the House. And Representative Alabas Farhat from Dearborn is the Minority Vice Chair of the Full Appropriations Committee. So another member from The Senior Alliance service area. So some leadership positions are, are kind of set, but we don’t really know who’s going to be sitting on these committees yet. And Dave, I want to throw out to you this Appropriations Committee situation with the subcommittee. We previously had a subcommittee that was for the Michigan Department of Health New Services budget, and Speaker Hall is going to break that up into three different pieces now. So the budgets that might impact aging might be heard by three different subcommittees. What do you make of of that? I’ve never seen that scenario before for human services.
Dave LaLumia (10:41):
Yeah, I would agree that this is a major change and it’s going to present some challenges because aging issues fall definitely into the subcommittee that’s going to look at Medicaid and behavioral health. And it’s also going to fall into the purview of the subcommittee that’s addressing social services. And you know, as we saw during the pandemic, some of the work of the Aging Network fell into the public health realm as well, and there’ll be a subcommittee on that. So I think it’s going to present some challenges for us. There’s going to be more legislators on these subcommittees that we’re going to have to get to know and develop relationships with and make sure that they understand the implications of what they’re doing for the Aging Network.
Jason Maciejewski (11:26):
So when I think about the committees and the work that they do, you know, being successful in getting bills through and to the floor for votes is quite a process. And Stephanie, I was wondering if you could share some insights and maybe your thoughts about how the committees work and what influence they have in their committee processes over bills and policies that we’re interested in.
Stephanie Hall (11:49):
Yeah, I mean, the committee, the committees are really where most, or I want to say where the magic happens or where most things happen is during that process, when a legislator introduces a bill, it’s immediately, it is assigned to a committee and then legislator in that committee kind of owns that, does some work on it, put it in simple terms, talks to other legislators, talks to other people who have a hand in it, kind of really shapes that bill in that committee and has hearings that people can come and give testimony. Us as the AAA’s give a lot of testimony during these committee hearings. So really that’s the area that we’re able to have a decent presence, not only through being invited to share testimony during these hearings, but also just in our meetings when we’re talking to legislators. If they’re on that committee, we talk to them, they hear something from us, they can then take it into those committee meetings as well. So really that’s where we have kind of the most influence and that’s where all of the details are ironed out before it’s then potentially taken to the floor for a vote.
Jason Maciejewski (12:52):
I think the guardianship bill package from last session was a good example of how when you get into that committee process, a lot of things can change. I mean, once you begin to get that public comment and stakeholder comment, a lot of work got sunk into the guardianship bill package definitely saw some significant changes when it got into that committee process last year. And like I said earlier, hopefully we, we’ve got a great starting point for 25 on that particular bill package. But the committee process is certainly kind of where a lot of that work happens before it ever gets to the floor of either chamber. Emma, I had mentioned earlier that we do a lot of educating with legislators about our work and really getting them up to speed to address the issues of aging and caregiving. A lot of what we do is build relationships with them so they can understand the impact that our work has on services and their lives. It’s a really big part of our advocacy. So how do you go about building relationships with legislators here in our service area
Emma Case (13:50):
To build relationships with legislators and educate them on the impact of our services requires consistent and strategic engagement. At The Senior Alliance, we focus on several key methods, one of them being one-on-one meetings in Lansing. We provide an opportunity, for direct and in-depth conversations about our programs and the impact they have on the community. It’s a good chance for legislators to ask any questions they may have about our services or what we do, and it’s a good time for us to build a relationship and figure out how we can work together. We’ll also go to district meetings and coffee hours. These are more of an informal setting that allow us to connect with the legislators while showcasing our commitment to being accessible and community focus. We provide educational information on specific programs and advocacy issues. This helps ensure that the legislators have the tools to understand our programs and advocate for our work. We help participate in town halls. These are, again, another informal gathering that provide an opportunity to connect with the legislator in their own districts and discuss local priorities and how our services might address those community needs. And lastly, we invite them to deliver a meals route. Meals on Wheels is a hands-on experience that lets the legislators see the impact of our services firsthand, allows them to meet with their constituents and creates a memorable connection to our work and the people we serve.
Jason Maciejewski (15:12):
So really important to build those relationships and understanding of the work that we do. And having them come do a meals route is really impactful for so many legislators and other levels of government as well. We’ve had members of Congress come out and do that county commissioners to really see firsthand what people are experiencing and how, what the kind of impact these programs have. So those relationships are really important for us to, to develop. So part of the benefit of building relationships is we get to have these conversations with legislators. And Dave talked about MI Choice and the importance of the MI Choice Program in our advocacy earlier, but we also are members of the Silver Key Coalition and they are a group that has a particular focus here on the budget. So Stephanie, could you talk a little bit about Silver Key Coalition and the work that we’ll be advocating on through them?
Stephanie Hall (15:58):
Yeah, definitely. So the Silver Key Coalition has been around for a little over 10 years at this point, which is pretty crazy. And the slogan of the Silver Key Coalition is to make Michigan a no wait state. So what that means we specifically focus on addressing the wait list for home and community-based services and home delivered meals. So again, your home delivered meals, your Meals on Wheels wait list for that. Your home and community based services are things like housing, transportation, those acts of daily living, all all of those kinds of things that you need to help somebody remain in their home and in their community. So for both of those programs, especially for the home and community based services, there’s quite a wait list in the state. And so the goal of the Silver Key Coalition is to get additional funding to serve the people that are on the wait list for both of those programs.
Stephanie Hall (16:49):
And how we do that is the beginning of the new year. So this is kind of what we’re doing right now is we get information from the department, they give us information on what the wait list looked like from the previous year, how much it costs to serve each person on that wait list. We’re a very data-driven coalition that’s, we always pride ourselves in getting the data directly, how much it would cost to serve these people and asking for that for that total. So that’s what we’ll do again this year. We take that cost to serve, apply that to the wait list and come to the legislature with an ask for addressing that wait list. Of course, this is really important not only because it’s more cost effective to keep people in their homes, but also it’s where people want to be and if they remain on these wait lists, they’re up to five times more likely to end up in a nursing home. So we really want those additional funds to be able to get those people the services that they need.
Jason Maciejewski (17:44):
Yeah, Silver Key Coalition is a really important part of our advocacy work and collaborating with those other organizations is key to our efforts there, but it is a collective effort in advocacy. And Emma, when we often get asked by people how can they get involved in advocacy, how can they help out? So what are some of the avenues that people can pursue to work on behalf of older adults and caregivers?
Emma Case (18:06):
One of the things people can do is they can join their AAA’s advisory council. So an advisory council, it’s a group of individuals, typically older adults, stakeholders who provide input and guidance and recommendations to the AAA’s. And their purpose is to ensure that the program’s, policies and initiatives address the needs of older adults and the challenges in our communities. And for TSA, if you’re interested in joining our AAA or our advisory council, you can email us at info@thesenioralliance.org. I also suggest signing up for MSAC, which is the Michigan Senior Advocates Council with 4AM. This is a statewide group of advocates who work to improve the quality of life for Michigan older adults. The council is composed of older adult volunteers and representatives from across the state that collaborate on aging related issues and influence policies to help older adults. You can join them by contacting 4AM at 4ami.org/advocacy or by contacting your local AAA. I also suggest signing up for any local advocacy newsletters that are related to aging. For The Senior Alliance, we have Colloquy and our legislative alerts, and you can sign up for those at thesenioralliance.org/advocacy. And lastly, older Michiganders Day is coming up. This is a day where AAA’s, older adults and other aging organizations join together to advocate on behalf of older adults from across the state on the lawn of the capitol in Lansing. This year the event will be held on May 7th and it’ll be live streamed as well.
Jason Maciejewski (19:38):
Great. Thank you for that information, Emma. And I want to note that people can go back and listen to previous episodes of the podcast. If you want more information about the Michigan Senior Advocates Counselor (MSAC), that was episode 9 of our podcast series. And if you want information about serving on an advisory council, we covered that in episode 10, so you can go back into our archives on our website and find those old episodes as well for more information. Dave, I want to turn to maybe things aside from 4AM priorities in a specific way and maybe bigger bolder things, longer term visions that we see maybe that we want to plant the seeds for now. You know, one issue I want to throw out there that gets talked about quite a bit, but maybe we’re not too actively involved with is housing and the housing situation, how it impacts older adults, how it impacts people who want to downsize, you know, homelessness is you know, an issue that a lot of people deal with. So getting involved in that kind of space at some point might be good for us. But are there other big picture issues in the world of aging that you see as being points of focus going forward?
Dave LaLumia (20:44):
I think there’s a couple of things. And I would agree that housing and addressing the homeless population is a huge issue and a focus. Michigan has a state housing, a five-year housing plan, and senior housing is one of the main pillars of their platform. You know, housing for older adults has been recognized as an important issue for the state. There are other things happening that Medicaid is moving away from providing strictly medical services to providing a blend of medical and social services. And there have been some recent approvals from the federal government to provide, to allow health plans to provide what they’re calling in lieu of services, which are supports things like nutrition and other supports that have an impact on an individual’s age. You know, I think those are all important, but you know, for me, one of the biggest boldest long term issues that I see is just simply that we have a huge demographic of people getting older.
Dave LaLumia (21:44):
I don’t see a response on the part of either the state or the federal government to address the growing demographic. We know that the baby boomers continue to turn 65 and the leading age of the baby boomers is pushing 80 right now. They’re still 10,000 people a day that are turning 65 and becoming eligible for Medicare. I just don’t see the response on the part of government to this growing concern and issue. So I would like to see our state look at our Medicaid program. We spend almost all of our long medicaid long-term care dollars on institutional services and there should be more of a balance between institutional and home and community-based services. I think that continues to be an issue that we need to keep in focus and work on over the long-term.
Jason Maciejewski (22:37):
Definitely important issues. So thanks for highlighting those. Emma, we’re going to close out this podcast here, but I want to ask you if there’s one thing that our listeners can take away from our podcast conversation today, what would that be?
Emma Case (22:49):
I would want our listeners to know that anybody can be an advocate. Anybody can make a difference in aging resources, in aging policy. They do not have to be an expert on the issues to reach out to their legislator and share their story on their experience and try to make policy change. And I’d also want people to know that AAA’s are the go-to resource for questions and information on caregivers and older adults in aging. And we provide a wealth of services and information to help people age in place.
Jason Maciejewski (23:22):
Great. I think it’s a great way to close. Here at the Area Agencies on Aging we are really there for the population we serve and the legislators on all these issues. So greatly appreciate the time three of you have given me today to be on our podcast. Dave LaLumia, the Executive Director of the Area Agency on Aging Association of Michigan, Stephanie Hall, director of Planning and Advocacy at AgeWays, and Emma Case, the Planning and Advocacy Manager at The Senior Alliance. Thank you all for joining me.
Group (23:51):
Yeah, thanks for having me. Thanks Jason. Thank you.
Jason Maciejewski (23:53):
If you have any questions about services or programs The Senior Alliance offers, you can call us at (734) 722-2830 or email us at info@thesenioralliance.org. Information about our agency or the programs and services we offer can be found at our website at thesenioralliance.org. And on Facebook, we can be located by searching for The Senior Alliance. I’m Jason Maciejewski. Thank you for listening to this episode of Inside The Senior Alliance.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
Inside The Senior Alliance is a production of The Senior Alliance and Blazing Kiss Media.
