BILL NUMBER: AB 614	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 17, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chávez
    (   Coauthor:  
Assembly Member   Atkins   )


                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act to amend  Section 1012.1   Sections
1012.2 and 1012.3  of the Military and Veterans Code, relating
to veterans.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 614, as amended, Chávez. Veterans' homes of California:
 financial investigation   reimbursement rates
 .
   Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of the
Veterans' Home of California at various sites for aged and disabled
veterans who meet certain eligibility requirements.  Existing
law authorizes, prior to the admission of a veteran as a member of
the home, and at any time during which the veteran is a member, the
Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate the veteran's financial
status to ensure that the veteran is unable to pay for the necessary
hospital or domiciliary care outside of the home, as provided.
  Existing law requires members of the homes to pay fees
and charges as determined by the department, but prohibits the total
of the member's fees and charges for specified types of care for any
fiscal   year to be greater th   an a certain
percentage of the member's annual income. 
   This bill would  instead, prior to the admission of a
veteran as a member of the home, require the department to review the
veteran's financial status to ensure that the veteran is unable to
pay for the necessary hospital or domiciliary care outside of the
home. This bill would authorize the department to promulgate and
maintain regulations.   provide that a veteran member of
the home would not be subject to charges and fees if he or she meets
specified criteria for disability status and payments by the federal
Department of Veterans Affairs under specified federal regulations.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 1012.2 of the  
Military and Veterans Code   is amended to read: 
   1012.2.   (a)     (1)   
Notwithstanding any other law, any member of the home who is
receiving an aid and attendance allowance from the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs and who has no dependent spouse,
child, grandchild, father, or mother shall pay to the home an amount
equal to that allowance in all levels of care excluding domiciliary.
 One hundred percent of the moneys received by the home under
this section shall be placed to the credit of the home and shall
augment the current appropriation for the support of the home.
 
   (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a member of the home who has
a disability that has been rated by the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs as being 70 percent or more service-connected, as
determined under Part 4 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.  
   (b) One hundred percent of the moneys received by the home under
this section shall be placed to the credit of the home and shall
augment the current appropriation for the support of the home. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 1012.3 of the   Military
and Veterans Code   is amended to read: 
   1012.3.  (a) Members of the home shall pay fees and charges as
determined by the department, except that the total of the individual
member's fees and charges for any fiscal year shall not be greater
than as set forth in the following schedule:
   (1) Forty-seven and one-half percent of the member's annual income
for domiciliary care.
   (2) Fifty-five percent of the member's annual income for
residential care for the elderly or assisted living.
   (3) Sixty-five percent of the member's annual income for
intermediate care.
   (4) Seventy percent of the member's annual income for skilled
nursing care.
   (b) Nonveteran spouses who become members of the home on or after
July 1, 2009, shall pay fees and charges based on the level of care,
as described in subdivision (a), or an amount equal to the annual
amount of federal per diem received for a veteran member in
domiciliary care, whichever is greater. If the nonveteran member's
income is less than the annual amount of federal per diem for a
veteran member in domiciliary care, the nonveteran member shall pay a
maximum of 90 percent of his or her annual income. 
   (c) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a member of the home who
has a disability that has been rated by the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs as being 70 percent or more service-connected, as
determined under Part 4 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal
Regulations and whose related payments made under Section 51.41 of
Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations are considered by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs as payment in full for
the member's care.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 1012.1 of the Military and
Veterans Code is amended to read:
   1012.1.  (a) Prior to the admission of a veteran as a member of
the home, the department shall review the veteran's financial status
to ensure that the veteran is unable to pay for necessary hospital or
domiciliary care outside of the home.
   (b) The department may at any time during which a veteran is a
member of the home investigate the veteran's financial status to
ensure that the veteran is unable to pay for necessary hospital or
domiciliary care outside of the home.
   (c) The department may contract with any other state agency to
conduct any investigation on its behalf.
   (d) The department may promulgate regulations to implement this
section.