HB 1351 & Me

Today we sent out some robocalls about HB 1351. This is what folks who received them heard:

Hello!  I’m Barb Baur, Chair of Caregivers Against House Bill 1351.  Did you
know that Dwight Evans has sponsored legislation that might take your home
away from you and your loved ones?

House Bill 1351 opens the door for the government to come after your home if
you are fifty-five years or older, and receive medical assistance.  After
you pass away, the government will seek payment for your medical bills from
your remaining assets.  If you have a home, a trust, or life insurance, the
government will try to take them away from your family.  If your spouse
survives you, he or she will find that there is a lien on the family home.

Apparently, Dwight Evans doesn’t care if families are bankrupted by medicals
bills through medical assistance.

Call Dwight Evans at (215) 549-0220.  Tell him we need to support our
families and caregivers, not take their property.

This message brought to you by Caregivers Against HB 1351, David Lynn,
Treasurer.  For more information, call (215) 687-XXXX.

The York Daily Record an article by Robert Clofine published May 22, 2009

The Phoenix   article published today. No author listed.

I was asked to be on the radio this morning to talk about HB 1351.

Gary Sutton and Jim Horn phoned me into the York Morning News this morning. I explained a bit about this bill and the effects it would have on seniors, their families, businesses even the local communities.  State Rep. Eugene DePasquale was also on the air with me. He mentioned that the feedback he was receiving on this bill was unanimously against. The bill is still in committee and he expects that there may be changes, however he said they are still seeking feedback from interested parties? 

I wonder who these interested parties are?

Anyway, the show’s hosts informed me that their call in guest on Thursday would be Governor Rendell and they plan to ask him how about this exact issue.

Give him a call. Thursday morning WSBA 910, York Morning News.

We’ve put together a PowerPoint Presentation that outlines the issues and effects of House Bill 1351. You can find it on our website here.

It’s only 12 slides and should only take a few minutes to read. But worth it to be informed about how the Commonwealth of PA is not only barely raising any money towards the budget with this proposal, but increasing the likelihood of urban blight, government red tape in tying up estate settlement and property transfers sticking it to seniors, their spouses and caregivers.

So in reading this blog, I get the feeling that none of the legislators involved in this Proposed Expansion to Medicaid Recovery have made any announcements or public statements. Even though the bill was proposed on April 28, 2009. It would appear that the Legal community got wind of it at some point after it was proposed and even then it seemed to take a few weeks for the implications to sink in before anyone started saying anything.

Myself, I learned about this entire issue only yesterday because I am on a newsletter list for Marshall Parker & Associates and read their email alert.

This stinks of the 2005 Pay Raise. For those who don’t remember the details, the PA Legislators passed a payraise for themselves in the middle of the night. No public comment period and no notice. And they had the gall to think they were going to get away with it.

Maybe it’s time to start getting in touch with their offices for comment?

I couldn’t help but notice that Dwight Evans and Ed Rendell didn’t announce their support of House Bill 1351 with a press conference, or blaring trumpets.  Maybe they didn’t want older Pennsylvanians to know that they were coming for their wallets.  Instead, they tried to sneak this one through.  That’s why my husband and I started this website, along with a companion political action committee, Caregivers Against HB1351.  We’re starting small (it’s just us against the machine) but we hope to get the word out to as many people as possible.

I think I already pay enough in taxes to the commonwealth — and given the pay raise fiasco, I don’t think my dollars are well spent.

I think it’s obscene for the legislature to expect families to give up houses and farms due to medical bills.

I think it’s wrong for Dwight Evans and Ed Rendell to decide that a life insurance policy that I have purchased should go to the commonwealth instead of my spouse and my daughter.

And I’m not going quietly.

Okay, so what is House Bill 1351 all about?  Well, you can read it here.
When you get through all the legalese, it basically says this:

Once you hit 55, if you need Medicare or Medicaid, the government keeps
track of all the money they spend on you.  When you die, all your assets –
your home, any life insurance policies (yes, life insurance policies),
assets you have in trust — goes to the government in order to offset what
was paid to Medicare and Medicaid for your health care costs.  If your
spouse survives you, then the government puts a lien on the home so that he
or she can’t sell it.  This will probably do wonders for their credit
rating.

The Department of Public Welfare (what a misnomer, huh?) is the sole arbiter
of whether or not the state will take your assets.  There is no court
appeal, no appeal to another agency, no unbiased third party to oversee
disputes, nothing.  Just DPW.  Makes you feel all tingly, doesn’t it?

Today, I found out that state representative Dwight Evans and Governor Ed
Rendell want to take my home.

My name is Barb.  I take care of a man who has no family.  He was my high
school physics teacher and guidance counselor.  We stayed close after I
graduated, and when he had a stroke, I gave up my job in Florida to return
to Philadelphia to take care of him.  In return, when he passes away, I will
inherit his home.

Or so I thought.

Dwight Evans of Philadelphia and Governor Ed Rendell want to take this house
away from me.  They want to take family homes and farms away from people who
give up their jobs to care for loved ones, and people like me who make
sacrifices to care for friends.

It’s no secret that the population of Pennsylvania (and America in general)
is growing older.  Apparently, Rep. Evans and Gov. Rendell see an
opportunity for the state to make money.  I guess they want to balance the
budget on the backs of older Pennsylvanians who can’t afford to their
medical bills, and end up having to depend on Medicaid to help pay for long term care.  That’s
what House Bill 1351 says.