HB 458-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
01/09
HOUSE BILL 458-FN
AN ACT relative to the estates of persons with long-term care policies.
SPONSORS: Rep. Daniels, Hills 6; Sen. Roberge, Dist 9
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill declares that if a person is the beneficiary of a long-term care policy of $250,000 or over, the resource ceiling shall be adjusted and the estate of such person shall be exempt from recovery in the amount equal to the insurance benefit payments received by the medical facility.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0263
01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to the estates of persons with long-term care policies.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Public Assistance; Long-Term Care Policies. Amend RSA 167:4, IV(d) to read as follows:
(d) Pursuant to section 1917(b)(1) of the Social Security Act as amended by DEFRA, the commissioner shall submit a state plan amendment establishing a long-term care partnership recognizing the investment in long-term care insurance policies by Medicaid applicants by disregarding resources or assets in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of an individual who is a beneficiary under a long-term care insurance policy which meets the criteria described in DEFRA and regulations promulgated thereunder. The state plan amendment shall also include an adjustment in the resource ceiling for persons who are beneficiaries of a long-term care policy of $250,000 or over. The estates of recipients of medical assistance for institutional level of care for whom the resource ceiling has been adjusted as described in this subparagraph, shall be exempt from recovery pursuant to RSA 167:13 and RSA 167:14 in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments received.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
09-0263
01/14/09
HB 458-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the estates of person with long-term care policies.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will have an indeterminable impact on state and county expenditures in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue, or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill describes the New Hampshire Medicaid Long Term Care Insurance Partnership program which is an option made available to state via the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). The Department submitted its Medicaid State Plan amendment (SPA) to the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Administration in 2007. Said SPA was approved on October 23, 2008 with an effective date of April 1, 2007. A workplan is underway with the Department of Insurance for roll-out of the program. The Department assumes this bill directs the Department to amend the existing state plan pages relating to the Long Term Care Insurance Partnership. Under the partnership, individual applicants for Medicaid who are beneficiaries of long term care insurance policies received an exemption from the existing liquid resource ceiling ($2,500) equal to the insurance benefits paid on behalf of the individual. The individual would also receive an exemption in the same value from estate recovery upon their death. In other words, the amount of additional resources is equal to the value of the policy. It is a dollar for dollar exemption in both regards. The bill directs a further adjustment for policies of $250,000 or more but does not state what the adjustment should be. Accordingly, it is not possible to determine what the fiscal impact of the adjustment would be. Counties presently bear responsibility for the non-federal share of Medicaid long-term care costs, up to the applicable cap. Accordingly, a portion of any costs or savings would be for the counties. The exact fiscal impact is not known at this time.