It started a week ago today – our state’s lawmakers convening to draft our state’s two year budget. While government services under discussion, such as public safety, personal and business property taxes, and health priorities, are of interest to every Indiana resident, several of the topics under discussion, both here in Indiana and on a national level, are of particular interest to our Geyer Law clients…
Veterans’ benefits:
- The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act implements a three-year program to improve the ability of veterans to access hospital care, medical services, and extended care services, allowing them to choose healthcare providers.
- The Major Richard Star Act would allow service members with combat-related injuries to receive both retirement and disability benefits (presently, there is a dollar-for-dollar offset). This bill has been reintroduced into Congress and is pending.
Since advising veterans and their surviving spouses is an important part of our law practice at Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates, we want to be sure veterans are aware of the many benefits available through the government, including education programs, job search and training resources, home loans, and pension and survivor benefits.
Medicaid:
“Congress is currently targeting up to $880 billion or more in federal Medicaid spending reductions”, health policy research organization KFF reports. In Indiana, the state’s two-year budget secured bipartisan support, Under House Bill 1001, the state’s share of Medicaid expenses was increased to 22% of this year’s budget. At the same time, an article in the Indiana Chronicle lamented that there were no new funds dedicated to shrinking the size of the waitlists for Medicaid waiver services.
Since Medicaid is designed to help seniors with limited income and assets afford healthcare and long-term care, many seniors believe their only option to qualify for the program is to “spend down” their assets. While this is true in some cases, at Geyer Law, we know that proactive Medicaid planning can protect assets to ensure the costs of long term care do not impoverish the family.
At Geyer Law, in addition to estate planning and elder law, we stand ready to answer questions in diverse areas of the law, remaining acutely aware of legislative developments on both national and local levels that can affect our clients.
by Rebecca W. Geyer
