News From Montana

AARP in Your State

July-August 2009

Shaping the debate — AARP Montana members turned out in force to discuss the issue of national health care reform during a statewide series of 20 "listening sessions" with senior staff from the office of Sen. Max Baucus, D.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over most health care programs, Baucus says input from the May sessions will be used in drafting health care legislation. He expects Congress to send a health care reform bill to the president later this year.

For more information about AARP's health care priorities, go to www.healthactionnow.org. To become involved in this and other issues, sign up at www.aarp.org/getinvolved.

June 2009

Funding in-home care — State lawmakers allocated an additional $10 million in the 2010-2011 budget for services that can help people remain in their homes as they age. AARP Montana spearheaded a coalition seeking the increase, a significant one in a tight budget year, and thousands of AARP members sent e-mails and post cards in support of the funds.

The legislature's action comes on the heels of a recent survey of Montana AARP members in which 70 percent said providing home- and community-based services should be a legislative priority. Nearly 500 people are on a waiting list for such services.

To learn more call 1-800-551-3191 or go to www.aging.mt.gov and click on "The Home and Community Based Services Program."

April 2009

Under one roof — AARP Montana is asking lawmakers to change the way the legislature approaches health care reform.

Currently, seven committees with temporary staff brief lawmakers on a range of health care issues—from covering the uninsured to regulating insurance—during the legislature's four-month biennial session. Two years later, the process begins anew, with no one monitoring these complex issues in the interim.

AARP is urging lawmakers to create a legislative committee dedicated to studying health care issues year round. If created, the committee would solicit public comment on needs for health care reform. To learn more, go to www.aarp.org/mt.