BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1440 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 2, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 1440 (Wolk) - As Amended: April 22, 2014 Policy Committee: Veterans AffairsVote: 9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill creates, what is in effect, a cap on the charges that non-veteran spouses living in a veterans' home must pay by requiring non-veteran spouses to pay the same sliding scale fees and charges as the veteran spouse. FISCAL EFFECT Moderate annual GF costs, likely in excess of $300,000 in out years. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not receive federal reimbursement for non-veteran spouses, therefore, the GF would have to cover the difference, which is about $5,000 per year for each non-veteran spouse according to the department. Non-veteran spouses are grandfathered in under the 2009 cap, but there are about 55 who are not. This number would presumably increase in future years. This bill reverses a 2009-10 budget action that removed the cap on residential fees. Until 2009 there was a cap on residential fees for each classification of care: $1,200 per month for residential care, $2,300 per month for intermediate care, and $2,500 per month for skilled nursing care. The budget action removed caps for all levels of care, added a separate fee structure for the Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), and required non-veteran spouses to pay either the same fees and charges as their veteran spouses, or an amount equal to the annual amount of federal per diem received for a veteran member in residential care, whichever is greater. If the non-veteran spouse's income is less than the annual amount of federal per diem for a veteran member in residential care, the non-veteran member must pay a maximum of 90% of his/her annual SB 1440 Page 2 income. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author contends restoring a cap on the amount a non-veteran's spouse must pay for residence in a veterans' home is sound fiscal policy. The author notes that if the non-veteran spouse's income is less than what the federal government would pay, then the non-veteran spouse pays 90% of his/her income. Thus, under existing law the non-veteran spouse may pay more for the same services and/or must choose between that pay structure and living apart from his or her spouse. 2)Prior legislation , AB 488 (Cook), 2011, was identical to this bill and was held on this committee's Suspense File. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081