AARP Wyoming Scores a Pen and The Cost To Amputate A Foot

AARP Wyoming

The best pens are those you earn. The pens are handed out during public bill signings and if you were a part of pushing a bill across the finish line, you are welcome to attend the bill signing and the Governor’s Office gives you a pen used to sign the bill as a memento of the effort. Tuesday afternoon, AARP Wyoming earned its first pen of the 2023 session.

More on that later. For now, here is what you need to know from the Capitol this week.

• Scam Protection Bill Is Signed
• Podiatrists and Pharmacists Bills Are Passed
• Property Tax and other updates

Scam Protection Bill Is Signed
Tuesday afternoon I received a call from Governor Mark Gordon’s Office with good news. The Governor was going to sign SF24- Financial Exploitation Of A Vulnerable Adult into law. By 5 p.m., we had a bill signed and got our pen. The excitement of that moment lasted about 15 hours until I came back to the office Wednesday morning to hear a message from a member in Casper. A friend of hers had been scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Below is a partial transcript.

“There is a lot of taking advantage of seniors and vulnerable people and I would just suggest this is something AARP needs to be concerned about. These are vulnerable people and this is a horrible situation. I would urge AARP to look at this as an area of protection for older people.”

We get more of these calls than you care to know and we couldn’t agree more with the sentiment. The good news is SF24 is a step in the right direction. The law will allow banks and credit unions to put up to a five day hold on transactions they fear fraudulent if the person who owns the account is considered a vulnerable adult. The definition of vulnerable adult is in state law and reads, “any person 18 years of age or older who is unable to manage and take care of himself or his money, assets or property without assistance as a result of advanced age or physical or mental disability.”

Clearly that doesn’t cover everyone, but we think the law benefits those who need the most help in our state. We need to thank the Bankers Association, The State Police and Sheriffs Association, The Credit Union Association, as well as legislators Ember Oakley, Barry Crago, Art Washut, Cale Case, Bill Landen, Tara Nethercott and others who stood up against scammers. Feel free to click on the tab marked, “votes,” to see who has the back of vulnerable adults in Wyoming. And please do send a note of thanks if you can. It is a stressful session and sometimes it is just nice to hear “thank you.”

Podiatrists and Pharmacists Bills Are Passed
Did you in 2012 it cost an average of $70,000 to cut off a foot? 

That’s right, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association, the average cost of amputating a foot in 2012 was $70,434. The Consumer Price Index inflation calculator suggests $70,000 in 2012 is worth $92,000 in today’s dollars. 

We also know that 85% of diabetes-related foot amputations are preventable. That is a big deal because Medicaid uses 50% state funds and 50% federal funds to pay its bills. In other words, a foot amputation costs Wyoming taxpayers $35,000 or more in 2012 and probably more today. If we can avoid those amputations by offering regular foot care for diabetics, that is a huge state savings and tremendous quality of life improvement for the patient.

Those are two reasons AARP supported Senate File 37, which allows Podiatrists to be added to the list of Medicaid-approved providers. SF37 passed both Chambers this week and is awaiting the Governor’s signature. If signed, the bill means those who are on The Community Choices Waiver, or in nursing home care paid for by Medicaid have a much better chance of being seen by a podiatrist, simply due to the fact Medicaid will now pay podiatrists for their time. 

A similar bill was also passed and signed that will allow pharmacists to be paid by Medicaid for their time, which is also very important. We have a very tenuous healthcare system and we need to make sure we support those who keep us well. We think these two bills will help that.

Other Updates
Monday is President’s Day and the Legislature will not convene, making Tuesday the official Day 29 of the planned 36-day session. There isn’t a lot more that we are keeping our eye on at the Capitol, but there are a few things, including:

• AARP’s preferred vehicle for property tax relief, HB99 - Property Tax Refund Program, made it through the House and was voted through by the Travel, Recreation, and Wildlife Committee 5-0 on Thursday morning. As debate on the floor of the Senate was taking place, Cheyenne’s Tara Nethercott correctly pointed out the bill had not been cleared by the Senate Appropriations Committee yet, and a referral to the Senate Appropriations Committee was made. That referral will be heard upon noon recess on Tuesday. If you care to reach out to the members of the Committee to encourage an aye vote, feel free to contact Dave Kinskey, Jim Anderson, Mike Gierau, Tara Nethercott, and Tim Salazar. Property tax relief has been on the mind of all five and I’m sure they would like to hear from you.
• The only other bill moving through the Senate is HB144 - Senior Citizens District Programs and Services. The measure would let senior citizen districts use their funding on buildings if they so choose. This bill has been amended heavily as the bill was brought by Tomi Strock of Converse County, which has millions in its district coffers due to oil money and would like to use some of the money to pay for improvements to aging senior housing. Other districts in the state have concerns that if they are asked to spend on buildings, they may not have enough for the day-to-day services they provide. The good news is great people in senior citizens centers and districts are working hard to improve the lives of older adults, even though they do it in different ways. It is our hope a compromise that works for everyone can be found.