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1997 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 365
Memorializing Congress to repeal § 13612 (a) (C) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

Agreed to by the Senate, January 30, 1997
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 20, 1997

WHEREAS, the states of Connecticut, New York, Indiana, and California have established public/private long-term care partnerships; and

WHEREAS, these partnerships encourage the purchase of approved long-term care insurance policies by offering purchasers enhanced asset protection under the Medicaid program; and

WHEREAS, under such a partnership program, if a policyholder requires long-term care and eventually exhausts his or her private insurance benefits, the policyholder is permitted to keep more of his or her assets while still qualifying for Medicaid coverage; and

WHEREAS, the 1993 Session of the General Assembly requested a study of the advantages of public/private partnerships to encourage the purchase of long-term care insurance in an attempt to formulate an innovative program to slow the growth of Medicaid funding for long-term care; and

WHEREAS, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 includes a provision, § 13612 (a) (C), that discourages additional states from implementing such partnerships by requiring states to make recovery from the estates of persons who had enjoyed enhanced Medicaid asset protection, making the asset protection provided by such partnerships only temporary; and

WHEREAS, the removal of § 13612 (a) (C) would allow additional states to establish asset protection programs for individuals who purchase qualified long-term care insurance policies without requiring states to recover such assets upon a beneficiary's death; and

WHEREAS, the removal of § 13612 (a) (C) would make such partnerships much more attractive to potential participants, especially if they are motivated by a desire to pass some of their assets on to their children; and

WHEREAS, having long-term care insurance reduces the possibility that persons will spend down to Medicaid eligibility levels; and

WHEREAS, long-term care insurance, by reducing the Medicaid expenditures for policyholders, helps states control Medicaid costs; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That Congress be urged to repeal § 13612 (a) (C) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Congressional Delegation of Virginia in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly in this matter.