Volunteers To Discuss Key Issues with Lawmakers

Nearly four dozen AARP Wisconsin volunteer advocates will be meeting face to face with state legislators at the State Capitol this week to stress the importance of three critical issues – supporting family caregivers, helping workers save for retirement, and preserving telephone landlines across Wisconsin.

These volunteers understand how important each of these issues are for Wisconsin’s aging population, and will work to inform and hopefully convince state Senators and Representatives that passing bills related to these topics is in the best interest of all Wisconsinites.

Here is a sneak peek into the conversations that AARP volunteers will have with their state legislators…

The CARE Act - There are over 578,000 family caregivers who are providing care for their loved ones in Wisconsin. The value of that uncompensated care is approximately $7 billion a year.

The CARE (Caregiver, Advise, Record, Enable) Act would help family caregivers when their loved ones go into the hospital by requiring hospitals to record the caregiver’s name in the patient’s medical record, by notifying the caregiver before the patient is discharged, and by instructing the caregiver on any medical tasks they will need to perform once their loved one returns home.

The Care Act has been introduced in the Senate as SB19. It has not yet been introduced in the Assembly.

AARP is asking the Speakers Committee on Alzheimer’s and Dementia to include the CARE Act in its recommendations and support the bill. All state lawmakers will be briefed on the legislation and asked by AARP volunteers to support it.

Wisconsin Private Secure Retirement Act – Volunteers will ask their lawmakers to hold a hearing on, and vote in support of this legislation, which has been introduced in the Senate as SB45 and in the Assembly as AB70.

This bill creates a retirement saving plan for the nearly one million Wisconsinites in the private sector who do not have that option at work. The bill makes it easy for small businesses to establish a basic retirement savings option for employees with professionally managed investments.

It also makes it easier for workers to build their own private retirement savings rather than having to depend on government programs.

Protecting telephone landlines – Finally, AARP advocates will also ask lawmakers to guarantee affordable and basic phone service for all seniors by holding a hearing on, and supporting legislation called "Provider of Last Resort."

This bill has been introduced in the Senate as SB240 and in the Assembly as AB396.

There are 11 counties in Wisconsin where cell service is not available. In many other places it is unreliable.

Tele-medicine needs landlines since cell phone are not compatible or reliable with medical information transmitted by phone.

This is a safety issue since many older Wisconsinites are living alone and their landline is there main connection to their family, their doctors and to public safety agencies.