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Northland lawmaker meets with aging and mental health professionals to review possible legislation

Money will probably remain the top point of concern for older adults in the Northland.

Senior citizens have been particularly hard hit by the recession, and that’s not likely to change any time soon, according to state Rep. Bob Nance, R-Excelsior Springs.

“Older adults, no matter their politics, are feeling a lot of stress about money these days,” Nance said. “The economy is the most burdensome thing we have to worry about.”

Nance met with the Aging and Mental Health Coalition of Kansas City North Thursday, Oct. 22, at Tri-County Mental Health Services.

About a dozen older-adult-care professionals were on hand to hear Nance’s update on possible legislation that may impact their work during the current General Assembly.

Nance chairs the Committee on Senior Citizen Advocacy for the Missouri House of Representatives.

Too many older adults are being forced to give up their homes, Nance said.

Nance put most of the blame on local property tax levies rather than home mortgage foreclosures. He told the story of an unnamed, older Clay County constituent who may become homeless because she can’t pay $5,000 in back property taxes.

“I think there are more problems with taxes for these residents,” Nance said.

Nance pledged to work hard on property tax relief legislation for older adults in the next few months, but he wasn’t optimistic that any significant changes would be made.

“There’s still going to be work on property taxes,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s going to be any progress, but we’ll work on it.”

With Tri-County Mental Health Services Executive Director Tom Cranshaw and a number of other people who depend on public funding in the room, Nance also warned that state allocations for mental health and older adult services will most likely decrease, possibly as much as 14 percent.

“With this economy, it’s time to dig in,” Nance said. “Save the dollars you do have.”

Most of the state’s funds for mental health services will likely be used this year to help families that have children with autism, Nance said.

One piece of older-adult legislation that’s already been introduced — House Bill 1012 — would use money from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide a 14-cent-per-mile reimbursement for volunteers who use their own vehicles for meals-on-wheels programs.

State lawmakers will also likely consider laws to regulate payday loans and reverse mortgages, both of which are having a negative impact on older adults, according to Nance.

One thing that Nance didn’t address was a call by Cranshaw for state and federal older-adult health insurance programs like Medicare and Mo HealthNet to provide the same level of reimbursement for mental health services as they do for other health care services.

“We’re working extremely hard, and so far successfully, to make sure that mental health parity and substance abuse parity are included in whatever health care reform gets enacted,” Cranshaw said. “Everybody is really stepping up and making parity a priority.”

Improved mental health care has a positive impact on a person’s overall health and should equal less money spent for doctors and prescriptions, Cranshaw said.

“It’s not only good for those whom we serve, but it’s also good for society as a whole,” he said. “The data out there is just fascinating.”

Cranshaw praised Nance for his open-door policy and encouraged the people at the meeting to lobby lawmakers for more help for older adults.

“The responsiveness of people like (Nance) is something we should applaud,” Cranshaw said. “We can probably have more impact than we sometimes think.”

Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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