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August 20, 2009
GOVERNOR PATRICK CUTS NURSING HOME BENEFIT AGAIN!
By the time you read this article, I will be in Cooperstown, New York Dreams Park with a bunch of 12 year olds from the Saugus American Little League. This same week, the Saugus National League will also be sending a team. Each week about 100 teams from around the country and a few international teams arrive there for a week long tournament to compete on the 22 baseball diamonds. They charge $850 per player (I thank everyone who has made a contribution on their behalf) and when you consider there are about 15 players and coaches per team, that’s about $1.2 million per week, not counting concessions ! Why didn’t I think of this?
Now, on a more serious note. Governor Patrick has decided to balance the budget by cutting benefits to our most vulnerable group of citizens, those living in nursing homes. My last article talked about how Governor Patrick vetoed the provision in the 2010 budget that would have maintained the current monthly personal needs allowance at $72.80.
On July 29th the Legislature passed a supplemental 2010 budget that would have partially restored the personal needs allowance to $69.68. The Governor has once again vetoed this provision. This means that nursing home residents will only be able to keep $60 per month for their personal needs. I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, $60 per month is not enough to pay for cable TV, telephone, hairdresser, clothing shoes, stamps and all the other necessities of daily life.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Call Governor Patrick at 888-870-7770 and tell him you are not happy about his veto that cut the personal needs allowance for nursing home residents. You can also call your State Representative and Senator and ask that they support bills that are currently in the Elder Affairs Committee that would restore the allowance to $72.80.
WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON: When I say “We”, I am referring to the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Although I have retired from the Board of Directors, I remain active on the Public Policy and Litigation Committee.
· This fall we will be working bills currently in the Elder Affairs Committee that would restore the personal needs allowance back to its existing $72.80
· Attorney member Brian Barreira, from Plymouth, Massachusetts, has come up with a novel approach at fighting these cuts and our Public Policy Committee has sent letters to both the Center for Medicare and Medicaid, and Governor Patrick demanding that the personal needs allowance be reinstated to its current $72.80 level.
Attorney Barreira’s idea comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) AKA “The Stimulus” that was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. This Stimulus package gave state Medicaid programs $87 billion to weather the fiscal storm. In return, the states agreed to not to tighten eligibility standards that were in effect on July 1, 2008. By cutting the monthly personal needs allowance, Governor Patrick has tightened eligibility standards and has put Massachusetts at risk of losing its share of the $87 billion stimulus payment. I’ll let you know how this turns out.
This article gives general information and not specific advice on individual matters. Persons wanting individualized advice on matters discussed should contact an advisor experienced in those matters. To the extent this article provides information on legal matters, it is based on law in effect in Massachusetts on the date of posting (laws in effect in other states are often quite different).
Ronald H. Surabian is a CPA and attorney who works at the Elder Law Center in Saugus, Massachusetts. He also holds Masters in accounting and a Masters in tax law. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Friends of the Saugus Senior Center and is a member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. If you have any questions, please call me at the Elder Law Center, One Essex Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781)233-4444. To view this or any prior article, please visit our web site at www.elderlawcenter.org