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February 12, 2009
ELDER LAW REFORM
Some things in life are just not fair. Take for instance, the tragedy of having to be placed in a nursing home. You sure didn’t want to go there, but you don’t have a choice. Who’s going to advocate for these people who are stuck at a place where they don’t want to be, and don’t have two nickels to rub together? The answer is people like you and I.
The reason I’m writing this article is to inform you of 5 Bills that are now being looked at by our Massachusetts Legislature that will enhance the life of people who live in a nursing home and their spouses, and like the squeaky wheel, these need to be brought to the attention of our legislators. And this is where you come in. I live in Saugus and have already contacted my legislators and they have overwhelming decided to support these bills. If you don’t live in Saugus, I am asking that you contact your legislators to ask them to support these bills.
Representatives Falzone and Reinstein, and Representative Mary Grant, from Beverly, have agreed to sign on as co-sponsors to all of these bills, and they deserve a big round of applause. Also agreeing to sign on as a co-sponsor is Senator Galluccio. Senator McGee has agreed to sign on as a co-sponsor to three of the bills and is gathering more information on the remaining two bills. I’ll let you know next week if Senator McGee has decided to also sign on to the two remaining Bills. If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can find them on the web at http://www.mass.gov/legis/. This will give you a listing of Representatives and Senators by city or town. When you call your legislator, you should tell them the name of the Bill and it’s sponsors.
The following is a brief summary of each of the five Bills. Just to let you know, our legislators are faced with looking at over 6,000 Bills that have been filed. If you need any more information about them, please call me.
1) Legislation to Restore the Personal Needs Allowance for Nursing Home Residents – filed by Rep. Reinstein and Senator Tucker – Nursing home residents are allowed to keep $72.80 per month out of their income to pay for telephone, cable, hairdresser, clothes, and all their other personal needs. Needless to say this amount is insufficient. This Bill would provide for an annual cost of living increase.
2) Legislation to Accurately Calculate Income for Spouses of Nursing Home Residents – filed by Rep. Fernandes and Senator Candaras – This is a very technical Bill revolving around the amount of money a spouse living at home may keep when their spouse is in a nursing home. MassHealth assumes that the spouse at home invests all of her income in a 2 ½ year CD when the truth is that she has most of her money in short term investments, such as a money market account. The assumption that she has all of her money in a 2 ½ year CD results in the spouse at home being able to keep less money than she really needs.
3) Legislation Protecting Family Members who Provide Personal Care to Elders - filed by Rep. Khan and Senator Montigny – Wouldn’t you like it if your daughter quit her job to become your caregiver to keep you out of a nursing home, and you were able to pay her instead of giving your money to a nursing home? MassHealth treats this as a scheme to deplete your assets. This Bill would allow payments to family members, without disqualifying you from benefits, in the event the amount of care you need escalates to the point that you need nursing home placement.
4) Legislation to Encourage the Use of Long Term Care Insurance – filed by Rep. Fallon, Senator Chandler and Senator O’Leary – One of the key selling points of long term care insurance is that your home will be protected if you need nursing home care. These policies pay for home care as well. But, and this is a big but, if you use even one day of home care benefits, your policy is no longer a qualified policy, and your home is no longer protected. This Bill would declare that the protection of your home will not be eliminated if you use any of the home care benefits.
5) Legislation to Protect the Financial Security of Spouses of Nursing Home Residents – filed by Rep. Peisch and Senator Eldridge – When one spouse needs nursing home care, the total assets of both spouses are counted to determine eligibility for MassHealth. Many states (Mass. is not one of them) don’t count the IRA of the healthy spouse when the sick spouse needs nursing home care. The result in Massachusetts in many cases is the requirement that the healthy spouse liquidate her IRA and pay the taxes on this liquidation. This Bill would make the healthy spouse’s IRA non-countable as long as she is taking annual distributions from the IRA, allowing her more financial security while living in the community.
Thank you for taking the time to look over these very important bills, and thank you in advance for taking even more of your time to call your Representatives and Senators to make sure that they are supporting these Bills.
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