1. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): The federal LIHEAP provides assistance paying for home heating for people of all ages, including many elders whose household income does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
Update: The Administration presented its FY ’15 budget, which included $6 million for LIHEAP funding. That amount is approximately $2.1 million less than what’s needed to keep people at the same benefit as last year. However, subsequent to presentation of the administration’s budget, federal funding for LIHEAP was restored to its pre-federal-sequester levels. That means that Vermont will receive approximately $2.4 million in additional LIHEAP dollars from the federal government. The administration did propose using approximately $500,000 of that money to supplement the crisis fuel program and has allotted the rest to level fund seasonal fuel. COVE and its partners will push for additional LIHEAP benefits, as there has been a continual erosion of the amount of assistance individuals have received.
2. Choices for Care (CFC): CFC is Vermont’s long-term care (LTC) program for low-to moderate-income elders and adults with disabilities. It provides for both nursing home and home-and community-based care for those with financial and clinical needs for the same. The program has been very successful in giving Vermonters a choice as to where to receive services and in saving the state significant dollars. The biggest problem CFC has repeatedly encountered is how to use those savings - whether to reinvest the savings in an improved home and community based services program, as promised, or to offset other pressures and priorities in the state budget.
Update: In the Budget Adjustment process COVE and its partners pushed the legislature to fully invest the $6 million in savings from the FY 13 budget. While the Administration made some important investments, particularly to address
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the moderate needs waiting list, they continued to insist upon holding approximately $2 million in reserve for a financial cushion to deal with fluctuations in CFC. The $2 million stayed in reserve as the bill passed the House, but we were able to successfully convince the Senate, and subsequently the House to authorize an additional $1 million in one-time reinvestments into Home and Community Based Services. Such reinvestments could include such things as home modifications and assistive devices.
The administration presented its FY ’15 budget and flat funded CFC. In addition to not initiating any new investments in the program, the budget as proposed takes $1.9 million in CFC savings (from lower utilization of nursing homes) and uses that money for an annual increase in nursing home reimbursements that is required by statute. COVE and its allies have raised this issue with legislators and will continue to argue that it violates the spirit and the language of the CFC waiver and will hamper the legislature’s ability to reinvest money during budget adjustment next winter. (Please note: COVE does not oppose increasing funding to nursing homes, just raiding CFC savings, which are required to be reinvested into home and community based services.)
3. Paid Sick Leave (H.208) Update: The Paid Sick Leave coalition, of which COVE is a member, continues to be active this session. COVE testified on behalf of elders during the House hearings on the issue. We have continued to engage with the coalition to help push the issue through the process. Our testimony led to the amendment of the bill to include grandparents-in-law and grandchildren as categories of people for whom employees can take time off to provide care. In addition, there have been amendments that weaken the bill, such as exempting employers of 5 or fewer, and requiring a probationary period for employees to begin earning paid time off. Even as amended to date, however, H.208 remains a strong and positive bill, and COVE remains committed to working for its passage.
This bill has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee, because there would be a cost to the state to provide the benefits in the bill to certain state workers who do not currently receive them. Here is the link to the latest version of H.208: http://www2.leg.state.vt.us/CommitteeDocs/House%20General/Bills/H.208%20Paid%20absence%20from%20work%20for%20healthcare%20and%20safety/Drafts%20and%20Amendments/2-11-2014~David%20Huber~H.208~Draft%20No.%204.1,%202-11-2014.pdf
4. Consumer Representation by the Department of Public Service (S.25) Update: Championed by AARP Vermont, S. 25 requires the Department of Public Service to give heightened consideration to ratepayers that have historically not been independently represented before the Public Service Board, including residential, low-income and small business utility customers. The bill passed both bodies and was signed by the Governor on February 4. (For a report on the bill, see http://vtdigger.org/2014/02/09/shumlin-signs-public-advocacy-bill-law/.) The Department will report back in July about its progress in implementing this bill.
5. Pension Lending, S.223: H.223, also championed by AARP Vermont, would prohibit the practice of “pension lending,” whereby companies target financially insecure pensioners, offering lump sums for part or all of their pension benefits in exchange for an obligation to redirect the pension payments to the company. Hidden in these transactions are exorbitant fees often reaching 40-60%. The bill, which passed the Senate 27-0, would treat these companies as lenders and require licensing of their practices, subjecting them to Vermont’s broad protections when it comes to consumer loans. The bill is currently in the House Commerce Committee awaiting action.
6. Telephone Lifeline: H.576 changes the recipient of applications for the Telephone Lifeline program from the Tax Department to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). The rationale for this change was that the program needed to comply with new federal rules that require a five-day turnaround on the applications. In exchange for agreeing to this change, we worked with DCF to come up with a set of protocols that DCF and the Tax Department would utilize to encourage seniors to apply for this program through the tax department, whether they use the tax booklets, tax preparers or the state tax website.
7. 3Squares VT: H.620 addresses a problem that results from an excessive overpayment error rate in the Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (3Squares VT). For the past few years, Vermont has been subject to federal sanctions because benefit payment error rates have exceeded the federal requirement of less than 6%. (The national average is 3.4%.)
When an overpayment error is discovered, DCF attempts to get the full overpayment back from the low income recipients (often after they have spent the money in good faith), even when the error was made by DCF. The bill would hold harmless Vermonters who received overpayments of their 3SquaresVT benefits because of errors made by DCF in years in which the state is sanctioned for an excessive overpayment error rate. The bill as introduced may be read at: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2014/bills/Intro/H-620.pdf.
There will be a significant cost to the state to implement this policy, and at the moment it is unclear whether the bill is will move. AARP Vermont and COVE have sent a joint letter to the House Human Services and Appropriations Committees urging them to pass H.620.
By David Mickenberg
