By CANHR is sponsoring or co-sponsoring the following bills for the 2016 legislative session.
Review the fact sheets and find sample letters of support below for each bill.
Sponsored
Medi-Cal Estate Recovery Reform Signed into Law
California’s budget bill, SB833, was signed by the Governor in June. The bill incorporates the provisions of SB 33 and includes the most comprehensive Medi-Cal Reform measures since 1993.
- No recovery on the estates of surviving spouses
- Recovery limited to only that required by federal law, i.e., for those 55+ years of age, nursing home facility, home and community based services, etc. or any age if person “permanently institutionalized.”
- Waiver of claim for homesteads of modest value
- “Estate” limited to probate estate – thus, living trusts, JTs, TODs, etc. will not be subject to recovery
- Interest on liens will be limited (currently at 7%)
SB 924 (Roth): CANHR’s Annuity Suitability Bill Signed Into Law
This bill requires insurance companies to determine whether or not their annuities are being used to qualify a senior for Medi-Cal or Veteran’s benefits, and if they are then whether or not the transaction is suitable for the senior. This new law is an important advancement for consumer protection because, although it is illegal for California insurance agents to sell annuities to seniors to qualify for the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance Benefit (Insurance Code § 785.5), and early always for Medi-Cal (Insurance Code § 789.9), never-the-less insurance companies have been turning a blind eye to illegal transactions. Now, with SB 924, there can be no excuse for selling unsuitable annuities to seniors, and insurance companies that do will face certain liability. Status: Signed by the Governor.
Read the Factsheet
Read the Bill
SB 938 (Jackson): Ensuring Appropriate Care for Conservatees with Dementia
This bill would help ensure appropriate care for people with dementia who are conserved. It requires greater detail from a conservatee’s treating health care provider to demonstrate that a proposed psychotropic drug prescription is appropriate and the least intrusive treatment before a court can approve the use of psychotropic drugs for a conservatee with dementia.
Status: Died on Assembly floor.
Read the Factsheet and Sample Letter
Read the Bill
SB 1065 (Monning): Dismissal or denial of petitions to compel arbitration: appeals.
This bill will help elders who are sick and dying and have received a trial preference in an elder abuse case to get their day in court quickly, rather than being delayed by an appellate process that can take three years or more.
Status: Signed by the Governor.
Read the bill
Read the factsheet
CANHR Support
AB 1655 (Dodd): Medi-Cal: Personal Needs Allowance
This bill would increase the personal needs allowance for Medi-Cal beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities from $35 to $80 per month, and would require the department to annually increase this amount based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index. Status: Dead
AB 1797 (Lackey): In-Home Supportive Services: Application
This bill would improve the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) application process by requiring that individuals applying electronically receive a confirmation number and require the county to process an application within 30 days.
Status: Signed by the Governor.
AB 2231 (Calderon): Care facilities: civil penalties
This bill would improve the penalty system in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs). In 2014, Governor Brown signed into law AB 2236, which increased civil penalties for incidents resulting in death or serious bodily injury of residents. However, AB 2236 did not address penalties for the myriad of other injuries and violations that harm residents in RCFEs. This bill would increase the amount of civil penalties imposed for a licensing violation under those provisions, and would impose civil penalties for repeat violations.
Status: Signed by the Governor.
Read the Bill
AB 2394 (Garcia): Medi-Cal: Nonmedical transportation
This bill would clarify that nonmedical transportation is a benefit for all beneficiaries under the Medi-Cal program. Currently, the benefit is only offered to children on Medi-Cal and to Cal MediConnect beneficiaries.
Status: Signed by the Governor.
Read the Bill
SB 939 (Monning): CCRC Refunds
This bill would require the continuing care retirement facility to pay the full lump-sum payment that is conditioned upon resale of a unit to the resident within 14 days after resale of the unit and would require the CCRC, for contracts signed after January 1, 2016, to pay at least 20% of the full lump-sum payment to the resident within 120 days after a formerly occupied unit has been vacated. Among other provisions, the bill would require the facility to make the lump-sum payment to the resident’s estate if the resident is deceased.
Status: Signed by the Governor.
Read the Bill
Oppose
AB 2104 (Dababneh) : Public Financing of For-Profit Nursing Home Chains
This bill would make low-cost financing and loan guarantees available to for-profit nursing homes through the California Health Facilities Financing Authority Fund and the Health Facility Construction Loan Insurance Fund. These actions would betray the mission of these programs to help nonprofit and public health facilities reduce their cost of capital and would enable the expansion of for-profit nursing home chains that are providing poor quality of care to their residents.
Status: Dead.
Read the Bill
Download the sample letter
AB 2341 (Lackey): Health facilities: special services
This bill would allow skilled nursing facilities to deliver unregulated “special services” (dialysis, peritoneal, and infusion services) to outpatients. This bill would deregulate oversight of these services, allowing nursing homes to create “special services” of their own design and establish standards of care for their delivery. Status: Gutted and amended to a bill about vacant judgeships.
AB 2661 (Burke): Continuing Care Retirement Communities: refundable contracts
Elderly residents often expend a significant portion of their life savings in order to purchase care in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Existing law requires a CCRC offering a refundable contract to maintain a refund reserve in trust for residents of the community. This bill would eliminate certain refund reserve protections for residents of CCRCs in California. Status: Pulled by the author.
SB 929 (Vidak): Compensation for Guardians and Conservators
This bill would eliminate one of the very few remaining financial disincentives for filing for conservatorship in California, by permitting compensation to third parties who neither want nor will take a role in the conservatorship.
Status: Dead.
For details on specific bills, go to: www.leginfo.ca.gov