BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 487
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 11, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     AB 487 (Cook) - As Amended:  April 11, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Vets Vote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill restores a cap on the amount veterans pay for 
          residence and care in the Veterans Home of California and 
          creates an inflator to be recalculated annually to reflect 
          changes in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability 
          compensation.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Increased annual GF costs in the range of $500,000 by 
            restoring cap on the amount veterans pay for vets home 
            residential costs.

          2)This bill reverses a 2009-10 budget action. 

            Until the 2009-10 budget eliminated the caps - to address the 
            budget deficit and because they had not been adjusted since 
            implementation in 1935 - 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 
            $2,500 per month for skilled nursing care.  

            Currently Veterans' Home members pay a sliding scale of fees 
            based on income. Specifically, the total of a member's annual 
            fees and charges may not exceed:

            47.5% of the member's annual income for domiciliary care;
            55% of the member's annual income for residential care for the 
            elderly or assisted living;
            65% of the member's annual income for intermediate care;








                                                                  AB 487
                                                                  Page  2

            75% of the member's annual income for skilled nursing care.

            This bill proposes similar percentages, but caps the amount 
            with a specific dollar amount, or the existing percentage - 
            whichever is less:

            $1,665 per month for domiciliary care;
            $1,800 per month for residential care for the elderly or 
            assisted living;
            $3,450 per month for intermediate care;
            $3,750 per month for skilled nursing care.

           
          COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author contends restoring a cap on veterans' 
            home member payments, which was removed in a 2009-10 budget 
            trailer bill, is worthy state fiscal policy.
           
            2)Related legislation  , AB 488 (Cook) amends the same code 
            section, requiring that non-veteran spouse fees be the same as 
            the veteran members. 





           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081