Senior Health, Guardianship & Aging at Home
SENIOR HEALTH, GUARDIANSHIP & AGING AT HOME
PROPOSED / DRAFT — SENIOR HEALTH COVERAGE & INDEPENDENT-LIVING SUPPORT
Every senior should have dependable access to medically necessary healthcare, prescriptions, preventive care, mental-health care, vision, hearing, dental care, rehabilitation, and appropriate long-term-care support without being forced into poverty.
Medicare eligibility should remain available before the proposed Social Security full-retirement age of 72. Raising the full-retirement age must not create a seven-year health-coverage gap. Seniors should receive clear choices among qualified coverage options, protection for preexisting conditions, transparent prices and networks, and an annual limit on unaffordable out-of-pocket exposure.
SENIOR NAVIGATOR AND SOCIAL-WORK ACCESS
Every county or regional service area should provide access to a qualified senior navigator or licensed social worker through an accountable public agency or contracted nonprofit. Assistance should include:
Medicare and insurance enrollment
Social Security and retirement-benefit applications
Prescription-assistance programs
Housing and property-tax relief
Nutrition and transportation services
In-home care and caregiver support
Fraud, abuse, neglect, and exploitation reporting
Veterans’ benefits
Advance-care and legal-service referrals
Appeals when benefits are wrongly denied
Services should be available in person, by telephone, online, and through home visits when mobility or medical need requires them. Seniors retain control over their choices and personal information unless a court has found incapacity or an immediate emergency requires narrowly limited intervention.
AGING AT HOME
Public programs should prioritize safe independent living and aging at home when clinically appropriate and preferred by the senior. Home modifications, accessible transportation, respite care, visiting healthcare, meal delivery, and caregiver support should be compared fairly with the cost of institutional care.
No senior should be placed in a facility merely because navigating fragmented programs is difficult. Facilities and in-home providers must meet enforceable safety, staffing, transparency, and abuse-reporting standards.
HEALTHCARE AND INDEPENDENT LIVING
Every senior should have dependable access to medically necessary healthcare, prescriptions, preventive care, mental-health care, vision, hearing, dental care, rehabilitation, and appropriate long-term-care support without being forced into poverty. Medicare eligibility should not be delayed to age 72 or create a health-coverage gap.
Every county or regional service area should provide access to a qualified senior navigator or licensed social worker. Assistance should cover Social Security, Medicare and insurance, prescription programs, housing and property-tax relief, nutrition, transportation, in-home care, caregiver support, fraud and abuse reporting, veterans’ benefits, legal referrals, and benefit appeals.
Public programs should support safe independent living and aging at home when medically appropriate and preferred by the senior. Home modifications, transportation, respite care, visiting healthcare, meal delivery, and caregiver support should be compared fairly with institutional care.
Guardianship and Elder Protection
A court may impose guardianship only after notice, appointed counsel for a person who cannot afford counsel, access to the evidence, an opportunity to present witnesses, and proof by clear and convincing evidence that the person cannot make specified decisions safely even with less restrictive support.
The court must obtain an independent professional evaluation when capacity is disputed and must issue written findings identifying each power transferred, the evidence, less restrictive alternatives considered, and the duration of the order.
An emergency order without a full prior hearing expires after 72 hours unless a hearing is held. Any continued emergency order must be narrowly limited and reviewed within seven days.
Supported decision-making, limited guardianship, representative payee arrangements, powers of attorney, and targeted protective orders must be considered before plenary guardianship.
Every guardian must file regular financial accountings and report major medical, housing, and property decisions. The protected person, counsel, and interested family members approved by the court must have access to those reports, subject to privacy protections.
Guardianship must be reviewed at least annually. The protected person may petition for modification or termination at any time based on materially changed circumstances, and the court must provide a prompt hearing.
Knowing exploitation, theft, self-dealing, evidence fabrication, isolation for financial advantage, or retaliation by a guardian may result in immediate suspension, restitution, surcharge, removal, civil liability, and criminal prosecution.
Related policies: Social Security, Senior Security & Retirement; Healthcare; Property Rights, Land Use & Off-Grid Living; Personal Rights & Freedoms.
Status: Proposed / Draft — not yet formally adopted.
Originally published: August 15, 2026.
Last updated: September 25, 2026.
Version: Draft 0.1.