BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 614
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 614 (Chávez)
As Amended August 21, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(April 25, |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 25, |
| | |2013) | | |2014) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: V.A.
SUMMARY : Eliminates the requirement that certain Veterans Home
residents pay, to the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(CDVA), any Aid and Attendance benefits they receive from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) and
prohibits the CDVA from charging certain fees as specified.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Eliminate the requirement that certain Veterans Home residents
veterans who have a USDVA service-connected disability rating
of 70% or greater pay, to the CDVA, any Aid and Attendance
benefits they receive from the USDVA.
2)Prohibits CDVA, when receiving the "super per diem rate" paid
by USDVA for veterans who have a USDVA service-connected
disability rating of 70% or greater, from charging a so-called
"member fee" to such veterans.
3)Deems that the super per diem rate is deemed to cover all
costs of state care to veterans who have a USDVA
service-connected disability rating of 70% or greater.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the establishment and operation of the Veterans
Home of California, within the CDVA, at various sites
(collectively the "homes") for aged and disabled veterans and
their nonveteran spouses, who meet certain eligibility
requirements.
2)Requires members (residents) of the homes to pay fees and
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charges, as determined by CalVet.
3)Provides for the homes to receive federal per diem payments
from the USDVA, which help compensate the state veterans homes
for the costs of care.
4)Provides for the homes to receive an increased per-diem (super
per diem) for those residents who have a USDVA
service-connected disability rating of 70% or greater.
5)Provides for the homes to receive federal "aid and attendance"
payments from the USDVA on behalf of eligible veterans, who
need levels of care exceeding provision of basic domiciliary
services.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Federal regulations (Code of Federal Regualtions
Title 38, Chapter 1, Part 51 Subpart C, Section 51.41) govern
how the USDVA and a state veterans home enter into a contract or
provider agreement through which the USDVA will make payments,
including per diem payments, toward each eligible veteran's
care. The regulations state that eligible veterans are those
who: are in need of nursing home care for a USDVA adjudicated
service-connected disability, or, have a singular or combined
rating of 70% or more based on one or more service-connected
disabilities or a rating of total disability based on individual
unemployability and are in need of nursing home care.
The regulations also provide: "The State home shall not charge
any individual, insurer, or entity (other than USDVA) for the
nursing home care paid for by USDVA under a USDVA provider
agreement."
According to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee:
CDVA understands this to mean that it may not charge
member fees of any resident veteran with a 70 percent
or higher VA rating. The justification for the federal
exemption rule is that, for those veterans, the
federal VA pays a "super per diem" that is 4-5 times
greater than the normal per diem, and that should be
considered sufficient to pay for a 70 percent-plus
veteran's full cost of care. They have been
administratively complying with this regulation, but
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believe they need a state statute exempting 70
percent-plus veterans from the statutory requirement
to pay member fees. This bill would conform state law
with federal regulations by modifying MVC [Military
and Veterans Code] Section 1012.3.
This bill also amends Military Veterans Code (MVC) Section
1012.2, which requires that the federal VA's aid and attendance
payments - for a veteran residing in a state veterans home -
ends up in the hands of the state home to help ensure that state
taxpayers are partially compensated for the cost of care to the
veteran resident. Under federal regulations, when a 70%-plus
veteran receives the super per diem payments, the aid and
attendance payments are stopped. This bill modifies MVC Section
1012.2 to reflect the impact of the federal policy.
Related Legislation
SB 1440 (Wolk) of the current legislative session, alters the
fee structure for nonveteran spouses residing in state veterans
homes; requires nonveteran spouses to pay the same fees and
charges as paid by the veteran members of the home and subject
to the same prohibitions. This bill and SB 1440 may be double
jointed depending on the outcome of their next legislative
hearings.
AB 488 (Cook) of 2011: Identical to SB 1440.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-3550
FN:
0004644