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May 8, 2008
HOUSE BUDGET CUTS AFFECT SENIORS
On April 16, 2008 the Massachusetts House Ways & Means Committee released its Fiscal Year 2009 budget. The Senate will soon be releasing their budget and to the extent that there are differences between the two budgets, a conference committee will iron out the differences.
Overall, there were few major cuts or major increases to bills affecting seniors. The largest cut was a reduction in funding for the new Community First Waiver Program from $45.8 million to $15 million. The Community First Waiver Program is an effort to reform the way seniors receive long-term-care benefits. The Waiver is a program designed to coordinate services to seniors to delay and prevent nursing home placement, enable nursing home residents to transition back to the community and expand services to individuals at-risk for future nursing home placement. For instance, if you were in a nursing home and did not want to stay, the Waiver Program could redirect your benefits to pay for your care in a less restrictive setting, maybe even at home!
One of the more disturbing cuts deals with the amount of money a person may keep out of their income, if they are in a nursing home. For roughly 19 years, a nursing home resident could only keep $60 of their monthly income to pay for their personal needs. The remainder of their income goes to the nursing home. This $60 is supposed to pay for their monthly telephone bill, cable television, clothing, hairdresser, bingo, snacks, etc… The fiscal year 2008 budget raised the amount to $72.80. The original 2009 Budget, as released, made no provision for maintaining the personal needs allowance to $72.80, meaning the personal needs allowance would once again drop back to $60 per month. However, the final budget passed by the House increased that amount to $65 per month. We are hoping that the Senate budget will restore the $72.80. Only time will tell. Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, along with 30 cosponsors, had filed an amendment to keep the personal needs allowance at the $72.80 level, but that amendment did not pass.
The Councils on Aging receives grants from the state to run the senior centers across the state. The FY 2009 budget had allocated $6.50 per elder. Representative Reinstein filed an amendment raising the formula allocation to $7.00 per elder. This amendment was adopted in the final version of the budget meaning that the Councils on Aging will now receive $7.00 per elder, pending Senate approval, an increase of 50 cents over the amount allowed in the fiscal year 2008 budget. The 348 Councils on Aging in Massachusetts provide more than 440,000 elders, their families, and caregivers with direct services annually.
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 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