Legislature(1999 - 2000)
03/02/2000 03:37 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 247-VETERANS'ELIGIBILITY FOR LONGEVITY BONUS MS. ANNETTE KREITZER, legislative staff to Senator Leman, presented SB 247. A person who resides in a nursing home can receive the longevity bonus only if "the cost of care of the person at the nursing home is paid for entirely from private sources." Persons living in nursing homes who receive veterans' benefits are denied longevity bonus payments. Veterans' benefits are federal benefits earned by those who have served this country in the armed forces. SB 247 amends the eligibility criteria for nursing home patients, to allow the cost of care to be paid for from private sources, veterans' benefits, or a combination of private sources and veterans' benefits. Those veterans disqualified under the existing law will be permitted to reapply for qualification for bonus payments during a six-month window open from July 1, 2000 to January 1, 2001. Eligible veterans who reapply will receive the monthly longevity bonus that they would have received had they not been disqualified. The longevity bonus payments are prospective from the time of re-qualification. A proposed committee substitute has been drafted to ensure SB 247 was drafted narrowly. SENATOR WILKEN moved CS for SB 247 (1-LS1363\G). Without objection CS for SB 247 (1-LS1363\G) was adopted. CHAIRMAN WARD asked how the CS differs from the original bill. MS. KREITZER stated it clarifies that a person who moves into a nursing home can pay out of private funds and adds veterans' benefits. Section 2 (a) speaks to the individuals who were receiving a longevity bonus and then disqualified because they began receiving veterans' benefits when they went into a nursing home. Section 2 (b) deals with persons who are veterans and applied, but did not qualify. SENATOR PHILLIPS asked if Social Security benefits disqualify people for a longevity bonus also. Number 726 MS. KREITZER stated that Social Security benefits are not the issue they focused on. SENATOR PHILLIPS asked what the difference was between receiving veterans' benefits and Social Security benefits when someone is applying for a longevity bonus, and whether Social Security benefits are considered federal money or private source funding. MS. KREITZER stated that she focused on the veterans' aspect of disqualification. She was not certain how Social Security benefits are considered. SENATOR GREEN stated that people 65 and older who choose to use insurance have no choice but to fall under Medicare, even though they are still paying for that coverage. Number 994 MR. EMORY WHEELER stated he is a veteran and supports 247. SB 247 has little fiscal impact and would greatly help the six individuals who are disqualified from receiving longevity benefits. SENATOR PHILLIPS asked if veterans' benefits and Social Security benefits were considered public benefits or private benefits. MR. LADDIE SHAW, Special Assistant to the Adjutant General of the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, stated compensation would be made to a person who was wounded during duty and that would be considered a private source. SENATOR WILKEN said Social Security should be a private source because the government holds that money in trust until the time a beneficiary draws off of the account. MR. JIM KOHN, Director of the Division of Alaska Longevity Programs, stated there is confusion between income and payment. Income includes Social Security and veterans' benefits; those are private payments. Payments or benefits come from the state or federal government in the form of Medicare and Medicaid. Disqualification was placed on the longevity bonus when a recipient of the bonus entered a skilled nursing facility. They were unable to receive Medicaid benefits because the longevity bonus disqualified them on an income basis. The federal government ruled a recipient of the longevity bonus could not give up that payment or disqualify themselves from the payment to qualify for Medicaid. The legislature passed a bill to disqualify people for longevity bonuses who were in skilled nursing facilities so they would qualify for Medicaid. In 1992, a change was made in statute to accommodate people who entered a skilled nursing facility using their own funds. While people are using their own funds, the legislature said that person should not be disqualified from the longevity bonus. If the bill is paid with other benefits, rather than personal funds, that person is now disqualified from receiving the longevity bonus. SB 247 extends the ability of recipients to continue with their payment to a skilled nursing facility if the payment is provided by veterans' benefits or a combination of veterans' benefits and private funds. MR. KOHN said the fiscal note covers one year of bonuses for those disqualified based on veterans' benefits being used for care in a skilled nursing facility. The total fiscal impact would total approximately $12,000 a year. Number 1514 SENATOR GREEN asked whether people are disqualified when they apply for Medicaid only. MR. KOHN stated no. SENATOR GREEN asked who qualifies for Medicaid and Medicare. MR. KOHN stated people who qualify for Medicare need to be between the ages of 62 and 65. People who qualify for Medicaid can be any age range, it varies with their income criteria. The longevity bonus recipients are people who are 69 and older. SENATOR GREEN asked if General Relief Medical Assistance would apply to people over age 69. MR. KOHN replied under current statute persons on General Relief would be ineligible for longevity bonuses. MS. KREITZER stated the only records available from the hearing in 1992 are on tape. No discussion of veterans' benefits were included in those records, it only referred to Medicaid, Medicare, and other sources. SENATOR PHILLIPS stated Medicare and Medicaid costs for veterans pose concerns about discrimination. SENATOR GREEN asked what was mentioned on the tapes that is comparable to veterans' benefits. MS. KREITZER stated Medicaid and Medicare. General Relief was not mentioned. Number 2116 SENATOR ELTON stated the veterans' benefits are earned in a different way than Social Security. SENATOR GREEN stated Medicare can barely be avoided when you are 69 and older. CHAIRMAN WARD stated SB 247 would be held in committee.
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