BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1440
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1440 (Wolk)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :34-0
VETERANS AFFAIRS 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Quirk-Silva, Ch�vez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Brown, Eggman, Fox, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Grove, Muratsuchi, Salas, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Yamada | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
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| |
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SUMMARY : Reduces the fees paid to the Veterans Home by
non-veteran spouses. Specifically, this bill : Mandates that
the fee structure for nonveteran spouses residing in state
Veterans Home shall be the same fees and charges as paid by the
veteran members of the Home and subject to the same
prohibitions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Funding for the annual operating expenses of the
veterans homes comes from the State's General Fund, and any
additional revenues that the Veterans Homes Division receives
are subsequently remitted to the General Fund. These additional
sources of revenue primarily consist of reimbursements from five
sources:
1)Medicare, a federally funded program which pays hospital
inpatient and outpatient care, and some skilled nursing care;
2)Medi-Cal, funded by the federal and state governments, which
pays skilled nursing facility daily rates and various
healthcare costs;
SB 1440
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3)Member fees, which veterans' home residents pay in accordance
with their income and level of care;
4)So-called "aid and attendance," which are federal payments for
veterans who need personal care assistance; and
5)The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which
pays a per diem rate for each veteran in the homes.
Member fee amounts are determined by CalVet, and that
determination takes into account those times when the costs of a
resident's care (e.g. dental care, acute medical care, etc.)
exceed the basic fee.
Under existing law, the total of the individual member's fees
and charges for any fiscal year shall not be greater than:
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.
Most veteran members are eligible to have the federal VA make
per diem payments to the state that help reduce costs to state
taxpayers. The federal VA manages the "State Veterans Home
Program," a grant program that provides federal assistance to
states by: (a) participating in a percentage of the cost of
construction of state veterans homes and b) paying per diem for
ongoing provision of care to eligible veterans residing in
federally recognized state veterans homes. The per diem is the
approved daily rate established by the VA to reimburse state
homes for providing specified levels of care to eligible
veterans.
In the 2009-10 Budget Act, the Legislature instituted a major
General Fund policy adjustment that affected home resident fees.
SB 1440
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Specifically, it increased the amount of fees collected from
home residents from $17.2 million to $20 million - an increase
of $2.8 million.
Previously, residents paid fees based on a percentage of their
income, up to a dollar cap, with the percentage and cap
increasing as the level of care increases. The 2009 Budget
proposal increased resident fees by:
1)Removing the dollar caps;
2)Increasing the percentage for the Residential Care for the
Elderly (RCFE); and
3)Revising the fee structure for nonveteran spouses to more
accurately reflect their share of costs because they are
ineligible for the federal per diem payments.
As a result of the 2009 Budget change, non-veteran spouses, who
become members of a veterans home on or after July 1, 2009, are
treated differently than veteran members. Non-veteran spouses
now pay fees and charges based either on: 1) the level of care
they receive or 2) an amount equal to the annual federal per
diem received for a veteran member in domiciliary care,
whichever is greater. (The level-of-care payment is almost
always equal or higher than the per diem amount.) If the
non-veteran member's income is less than the annual amount of
federal per diem for a veteran member in domiciliary care, the
non-veteran member shall pay a maximum of 90% of his or her
annual income.
1)This bill would reverse the 2009 Budget Act language that
requires new nonveteran spouses to pay based on level of care
instead of the scaled income caps that protect the incomes of
veteran members. The 2009 legislation was part of the
Legislature's broad attempt to address the state's fiscal
crisis. Should this bill pass this policy committee, it is
likely to undergo the same fiscal scrutiny that the identical
AB 488 (Cook) of 2011, did in Assembly Appropriations.
2)Related Legislation: AB 488 mandates that nonveteran spouses
living in the home shall pay the same fees and charges as the
veteran spouse.
SB 1440
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Analysis Prepared by : John J. Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-355
FN: 0004224