Senate Legislation Introduced to Impose a 36-Month VA Look-Back

Senate Legislation Introduced to Impose a 36-Month VA Look-Back:

NAELA’s Public Policy Committee has taken the lead in communicating NAELA’s response to Senate legislation that addresses some of the concerns identified in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on veteran pension benefits. NAELA supports steps to protect veterans from being taken advantage of by representatives from organizations who persuade veterans to purchase unsuitable financial products to qualify for VA Pensions. NAELA also supports steps to protect veterans from being given inappropriate advice on long-term care planning and asset transfers that may preclude or delay both VA and Medicaid eligibility.

NAELA supports steps to resolve these concerns in a way that expedites the VA catching up with its large backlog of unprocessed claims, and that does not burden veterans seeking to receive the benefits they have been promised by law. See NAELA's press release. Among the matters that could be cleared up by legislation or rule-making is a more precise definition of exempt versus countable assets for VA purposes and a clear asset standard. It also would be helpful to consider the extent to which any VA transfer-of-asset provisions should model themselves on the transfer-of-asset, spousal impoverishment, and special needs trust provisions of Medicaid.

In addition to contacting me, you may obtain current information by contacting NAELA’s Public Policy Consultant, Brian Lindberg, or NAELA’s Public Policy Chair, H. Amos Goodall. You can also visit the NAELA website for information.