Older persons and people with disabilities demand the development of a comprehensive long-term support system where people have as much right to home and community care as they do to institutional care including the following:

CWAG affirms the rights of all people to make informed decisions. Easily accessible information regarding choice, rights and responsibilities are fundamentally important for the consumer. Some frail persons are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation and need special assistance. Therefore, CWAG is unwavering in its efforts to expand programs to empower and protect Wisconsin's older citizens.

The Benefit Specialist Program has proven over and over its ability to capture substantial financial savings and protect the legal rights of older consumers all across the state. State resources are not sufficient to meet current needs. CWAG will seek increased state funding to provide a minimum of one full-time benefit specialist in each county and funding for a tribal benefit specialist program.

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program operated by the Board on Aging and Long-Term Care has a proud history of defending the rights of our most vulnerable people who live in nursing homes and CBRF's. The program is greatly understaffed making it one of the smallest in the nation. The Board's Volunteer Ombudsman Program also holds promise. CWAG supports state funding of an additional 12 Ombudsmen to approach national standards for this program. The Board's Volunteer Ombudsman Program has been successful where it has been initiated and CWAG supports permanent state funding to expand it statewide.

As part of the general problem of abuse in our society, thousands of our older people are exposed to every type of imaginable abuse on a daily basis. Sometimes this includes self- neglect as well. While Wisconsin has implemented an effective reporting system to uncover and track these victims, the real tragedy is that there is woefully inadequate resources to offer relief to the older person and her family. CWAG will make a major push within the Legislature to significantly increase the funding for more counties to provide assistance to elder abuse victims and their families.

Specialized transportation for the elderly and people with disabilities and mass transit programs should be significantly expanded especially in rural areas to provide improved mobility to this growing population.

State funding for the Elderly Nutrition Program should be increased for inflation and the growth in the population.

Wisconsin should take advantage of the growing elderly population, especially and the "baby-boom" generation, to expand and develop volunteer programs in every county by gradual expansion of such programs as the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparent Program, and Senior Companions Program.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits should be restored. CWAG will vigorously oppose any further cuts in the SSI state supplement.

(1) CWAG urges increased funding and regulation of quality and environmentally safe low- and-moderate income housing for people of all ages. Supportive services for frail older people and people with disabilities must be an accessible and available option.

(2) CWAG urges the state to continue to provide property tax relief to people of all ages by:

• Significantly expanding the Farmland and Homestead Tax Credit programs to provide greater relief to low-and-moderate income families and renters.

• Adequately funding the Property Tax Deferral Loan program.

• Taking steps to assure that renters benefit from property tax relief measures.

• Ensuring fair and equitable assessment of property.

(1) CWAG will support state legislation for universal health care for Wisconsin residents of all ages and other legislation that expands health care coverage to vulnerable populations, especially children.

(2) A recent federal study reported that one in five Americans suffered from some form of mental illness during the course of a year. Mental Health services are often not readily accessible or available to the elderly population. Mental health is compartmentalized as a special type of treatment, not always well understood by the family and the elderly client.

CWAG believes mental health service should be made consumer friendly for all persons needing the service.

CWAG supports education and training for mental health practitioners in the county and tribe, specifically in the care and treatment of the elderly patient. CWAG also supports education and training of health care practitioners, so that they can work in partnership with mental health practitioners.

CWAG urges the health care system to realize that good mental health is equally as important as good physical health and the care of mental health conditions be considered part of the care of the whole person.

CWAG believes that mental health services should be accessible and available to all who need them regardless of age or income.

(1) CWAG urges Congress and the President to set aside political partisanship and develop a national health program that guarantees universal access to high quality health care at an affordable price to people of all ages and which includes home and community-based long- term care, prescription drugs, dental, vision, hearing and mental health services funded, in part, by cuts in the defense budget.

The national plan should be financed through a single payer system with effective cost containment provisions.

The plan should be prevention-oriented with adequate funds for childhood immunizations, for development of technologies that open the world for persons with physical disabilities, and for research to arrest the ravages of conditions of Alzheimer's Disease and AIDS.

(2) Until our national leaders demonstrate the leadership necessary to develop a comprehensive health plan CWAG will oppose major changes in Medicare, the existing health care plan for older people.

CWAG opposes imposition of higher co-payments, deductibles and Part B premiums as a primary means to balance the federal budget.

CWAG will resist the creation of medical savings accounts which will only restrict spreading the risk across the entire population of beneficiaries.

CWAG promotes consumer education of evolving health care systems including risk plans in order to avoid unacceptable diminution of choice and access.

(3) Medicaid will continue to be the ultimate safety net for low-income consumers of long-term care until CWAG is successful in persuading our national elected representatives to adopt a universal health care plan which includes comprehensive coverage of home and community care.

CWAG will fight for retention of the entitlement concept of MA for families that exhaust their resources and have no other way to pay for long-term care.

CWAG views spousal impoverishment protections as fundamental to the dignity of families and no reduction in these protections is acceptable.

The federal government must maintain strong nursing home quality standards and deliver effective enforcement of the regulations.

CWAG insists upon aggressive federal action to root out fraud abuse by any perpetrator in the Medical Assistance and Medicare programs. CWAG will promote expansion of "Operation Restore Trust" by the Office of Inspector General.

Government should promulgate national standards for the sale of long-term care insurance to make this a safer choice of financing possible long-term care needs.

(1) Social Security Wisconsin's elderly population have contributed to and believe they can rely on the Social Security System. It is crucial that attention continues to be paid to wise management of the Social Security System.

The current system should be strengthened and maintained without means-testing.

CWAG opposes any elimination or reduction in the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA's) for Social Security beneficiaries and other retirees.

CWAG believes that Social Security should not be replaced by individually controlled accounts.

CWAG encourages the federal government to explore other options needed to assure solvency of the future Social Security system for generations to come.

CWAG urges the Social Security Administration to maintain a separate trust fund that is not allowed to be used for other purposes in the federal budget.

(2) Supplemental Security Income Supplement Security Income (SSI) is the basic, "safety net" for needy aged, blind and disabled adults and children.

CWAG urges Congress to provide more adequate assistance to the aged, blind and disabled poor by raising federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to, at least, the official poverty threshold and eliminating the one-third reduction in SSI to those living in someone else's home.

CWAG declares that the age of eligibility for impoverished older persons should not be raised above the present age of 65.

(3) Income Security Income Security can only be achieved when programs that are in place serve the population according to their prescribed intent. Income Security is fundamental to the dignity of the individual regardless of age.

CWAG urges federal and state governments to take action to insure portability, inflation protection and solvency of private and public pension funds.

CWAG urges Congress to sustain funding of the Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at adequate levels.

(1) CWAG urges the U.S. Congress to reauthorize the Older Americans Act in 1996 with the following provisions:

• Preserve the OAA's focus on protecting the rights of vulnerable older people.
• Expand the elder rights portions of OAA with adequate funding for the Ombudsman program, legal assistance, elder abuse prevention and insurance and benefits counseling.
• Reinforce the responsibility of the aging network (federal, state, AAA's and local) to advocate on behalf of older persons.
• Preserve the Senior Community Service Employment Program (Title V) operated by the federal Administration on Aging.
• Provide adequate funding of the act's essential training, research and discretionary programs.
• Continue separate grants to American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.
• Continue to strengthen and target services to those with the greatest economic and social need, such as low income women, minorities and rural elderly.
• Increase OAA appropriations to match the rise in the older population, especially the very old.

(2) Preserve, protect and greatly expand volunteer opportunities through such programs as the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparent Program, and Senior Companions. Especially, encourage programs that have an intergenerational focus.

(3) Continue and expand Federal funding for mass transit and specialized transportation for the elderly and people with disabilities.

(4) Provide increased appropriations for low and moderate-income and elderly housing, including supportive services for frail older persons and people with disabilities. Develop national standards for assisted living options to integrate and complement other long-term support services. Continue to expand the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program.

(5) Preserve and protect the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

(1) Enactment of long-term conservation measures to protect air and water quality and other natural resources for future generations.

(2) Passage of campaign finance reform legislation, including public financing and spending limits, to help restore the integrity of the political process.

CWAG urges the Governor and Legislature to fund the property tax relief plan (i.e., remove two-thirds of school operating costs from the property tax) passed in 1994 so that the burden of paying for property tax relief does not fall disproportinately on lower and moderate income tax payers, either through additional regressive taxes or cuts in programs and services.

CWAG urges significant expansion of the Farmland and Homestead Tax Credit programs to provide greater relief to low-income persons and additional assistance to moderate income families.

CWAG urges the legislature to take steps to assure that renters benefit from the property tax relief plan which was passed in 1994, and in any future property tax relief measures.

CWAG supports the continuation of and adequate funding for the Property Tax Deferral Loan program.

• Joyce Gannon, President -- Cadott, WI
• Alice Krause, 1st Vice President -- Milwaukee, WI
• Larry Thompson, 2nd Vice President -- Edgar, WI
• Sister Geraldine Schulte, Secretary -- Ladysmith, WI
• Fred Schluter, Treasurer -- Spooner, WI
• Len Walstad, Immediate Past Pres. -- Barnes, WI
• Thomas L. Frazier, Executive Director