02/07/2018 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

         SB 170-EXTEND: SENIOR BENEFITS PAYMENT PROGRAM                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:34:08 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR WILSON announced the consideration of SB 170.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:34:22 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR PETE KELLY, Alaska State  Legislature, sponsor of SB 170,                                                               
explained  that the  senior  benefit program  is  a tiered,  cash                                                               
benefit payment for  people 65 and older  (11,400 senior citizens                                                               
receive payments). SB 170 will  extend the program, which expires                                                               
this  summer,   to  2023.   The  bill   has  been   through  many                                                               
subcommittees.  It has  been vetted,  it is  a good  program, and                                                               
many people support it.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
He  called  the  committee's  attention to  the  Senior  Benefits                                                               
Program Information and Fact Sheet in their packets.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if this will  be the same benefit that was                                                               
paid out in 2018.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:36:59 PM                                                                                                                    
HEATHER  CARPENTER,  Staff,  Senator  Pete  Kelly,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, presented SB 170 on  behalf of the sponsor. She said                                                               
it  is  the same  benefit.  The  bill left  the  tiers  as is  in                                                               
statute. They  technically are at  a higher tier level  [than the                                                               
current  benefit   amounts].  That  gives  the   legislature  the                                                               
flexibility to change the tiers  by appropriation. The tiers were                                                               
changed in 2016 because of  the budget crisis. The highest income                                                               
tier, which is  the lowest benefit, was lowered from  $125 to $76                                                               
a month.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MICCICHE  said, to clarify,  the payment would  remain at                                                               
$76.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENTER responded yes.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MICCICHE said  it  is  the wrong  time  to allow  senior                                                               
benefits to  lapse. The  Senate majority  has focused  on seniors                                                               
and those who have developmental  challenges. This bill is in the                                                               
spirit of how the legislature prioritizes support.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH asked  about the New Payment Level  for Top Income                                                               
Tier on  page 2  of the  fiscal note that  shows a  decrease over                                                               
time.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:39:09 PM                                                                                                                    
MONICA   WINDOM,  Director,   Division   of  Public   Assistance,                                                               
Department  of  Health  and   Social  Services  (DHSS),  provided                                                               
information on SB 170. She said  the top tier level in regulation                                                               
is $125 a month. The  regulation was changed to handle reductions                                                               
in allocations. If not enough  money is allocated, the top income                                                               
tier will  be reduced,  if necessary. If  the allocation  was low                                                               
enough  to reduce  the top  tier distribution  to zero,  the next                                                               
income tier would be reduced.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  BEGICH  said  then  the  fiscal note  does  not  show  a                                                               
reduction.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. WINDOM said the fiscal note  shows a reduction in the payment                                                               
level over time.  On average, the number  of recipients increases                                                               
by about  two percent a  year. If  the funding level  remains the                                                               
same, the top  tier receives less money as time  goes on and more                                                               
people receive payments.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH said then the top  tier will actually go down over                                                               
time.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. WINDOM said correct.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH said  he hopes the legislature will find  a way to                                                               
hold that harmless over time, but  he did not want to do anything                                                               
to prevent the bill moving forward.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:41:10 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR WILSON opened public testimony.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:41:24 PM                                                                                                                    
GORDON   GLASER,  Commissioner,   Alaska  Commission   on  Aging,                                                               
supported SB 170. He said the program  is a way to keep people in                                                               
the community rather than  needing institutionalization. For many                                                               
people $76 a  month is not a  lot of money, but  for people right                                                               
on   the  margins   of  paying   for   prescriptions,  rent,   or                                                               
transportation,  it is  of critical  importance. It  keeps people                                                               
independent.  The   commission  and  Alaska   Geriatric  Exchange                                                               
Network  (AgeNet),  as  well as  the  Anchorage  Senior  Activity                                                               
Center, are  unanimous in support of  this. It is a  program that                                                               
reaches rural and  urban areas. It keeps  people independent with                                                               
a shred of dignity.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:43:26 PM                                                                                                                    
JEANETTE GRASTO,  representing self,  supported SB 170.  She said                                                               
before   she  recently   retired  as   the  hospital's   Lifeline                                                               
coordinator,  she saw  first-hand  how many  seniors  live at  or                                                               
below  poverty. This  program makes  such a  difference in  their                                                               
lives in helping them to  pay for medicine, transportation, food,                                                               
and medical costs. People at  poverty cannot afford these things.                                                               
This program helps keeps them independent longer.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:45:06 PM}                                                                                                                   
KEN HELANDER,  Advocacy Director, AARP Alaska,  supported SB 170.                                                               
He said the Senior Benefits Program  is one of the most important                                                               
in keeping seniors  independent. In the 1980s, he  spent about 15                                                               
years  working for  senior services  for the  Anchorage Community                                                               
Mental  Health  Center. He  made  many  home visits  with  people                                                               
struggling  to make  it day  to day.  In those  days people  were                                                               
grateful for the Alaska longevity  bonus. Now the senior benefits                                                               
program  is means  tested based  on federal  poverty levels.  The                                                               
program  and eligibility  changes,  but people  are  in the  same                                                               
situation. He related a story about  the anxiety of older man who                                                               
called  AARP  when an  announcement  was  made that  some  senior                                                               
benefits were going  to be reduced. The man used  his car to take                                                               
his struggling neighbors to food  banks. From this man's story he                                                               
heard what it  takes to remain independent  when older, disabled,                                                               
or  infirm and  how determined  these  older Alaskans  are to  do                                                               
that. The Senior  Benefits Program serves more than  11,000 for a                                                               
relative drop in the bucket of the state's budget.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:48:42 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR WILSON closed public testimony.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MICCICHE  said he did not  mobilize the gray army  in his                                                               
community, but if he had, there  would not be enough time for all                                                               
the public testimony.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:49:32 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  WILSON said  Mat-Su  also had  a  healthy senior  advocacy                                                               
group. This  is an important  issue for a  vulnerable population.                                                               
The state  should do due  diligence to  help the folks  who built                                                               
Alaska.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:50:17 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR WILSON asked for the will of the body.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:50:24 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  VON IMHOF  moved to  report SB  170 from  committee with                                                               
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:50:34 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR WILSON  announced that without  objection, SB 170  is moved                                                               
from the  Senate Health and  Social Services  Standing Committee,                                                               
with the  understanding that Legislative  Legal is  authorized to                                                               
make any necessary technical and/or conforming adjustments.