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Senior Lobby Day 2018

On February 22, ADS Advisory Council members will participate in Senior Lobby Day. Organized by the Washington State Senior Citizens’ Lobby in partnership with the Age Wave Coalition, this annual event is an opportunity to learn more about policies and legislation which impact older adults and family caregivers. It’s also a time to meet with your legislators and let them know what matters to you.

The agenda for 2018 Senior Lobby Day includes a morning filled with speakers and panel discussions on issues such as health care, budget and revenue, long term care support and services, and retirement and pensions. Participants are encouraged to make appointments with their legislators for the afternoon. They can also attend hearings and floor proceedings to see their representatives in action.

Although this is a short session, there are a number of bills and budget decisions which Senior Lobby participants will be asking their legislators to support. These range from creating a trust to pay for long term care (Long Term Care Trust Act, HB 2533, SB 6328) to establishing an employment administration for individuals who provided in-home care through Medicaid (Individual Provider Employment Administration, HB 2426, SB 6199). The priorities that our ADS Advisory Council will be promoting this year include:

  • Affordable housing—create legislation that enables more older adults to qualify for and maximize benefits of the Senior Property Tax Exemption.
  • Affordable health care—provide Medicaid coverage for hearing aids.
  • Vulnerable adults—invest in the State’s Dementia Action Plan.
  • Long-term care services and supports—make it easier for families to provide respite care (Respite Training, HB 2435, SB 6206).

Consider joining us in Olympia on February 22—it’s a great way to get involved and help make a difference for older adults and people with disabilities. For more details and information on registration, click here. Contact Gigi Meinig if you would like to participate as part of our delegation from King County.

If you can’t join us for Senior Lobby Day, AARP is hosting a lobby day on February 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Olympia. For Seattle area guests, AARP is providing a free shuttle bus to Olympia. The bus will leave from AARP’s SeaTac offices at 8:30 a.m. and return around 4:30 p.m. If you register to ride the shuttle bus, we will provide information about a week before the event about where to meet the bus. For more information, click here.


Contributor Cathy Knight directs Aging and Disability Services, the Area Agency on Aging.
Photo Credit: Lorraine Sanford, Aging and Disability Services

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