In this Issue
- New Income Limits for Aged & Disabled Program
- Report Finds Terrible Working Conditions Are Common in RCFEs and Contribute to Poor Care
- Assisted Living Waiver Institutes Waitlist
- Reverses Mortgage Whistle Blower Case Settles for $89 Million
- Congress Establishes New Elder Justice Caucus
New Income Limits for Aged & Disabled Program
Effective April 1, 2017, income limits for the Aged and Disabled Federal Poverty
Level (A&D FPL) are as follows:
Single Individual: The income limit for an A&D FPL individual will be $1,235. This income limit is equal to $1005 (100 percent of the FPL for an individual) plus the $230 standard disregard for an individual.
Couple: The income limit for an A&D FPL couple will be $1,664. This income limit is equal to $1,354 (100 percent of the FPL for 2 Adults) plus the $310 standard disregard for couples.
Report Finds Terrible Working Conditions Are Common in RCFEs and Contribute to Poor Care
A new report from Golden Gate University Law School’s Women’s Employment Rights Clinic discusses “exploitative” working conditions in California’s Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) and links those conditions to poor care for the elderly residents who live there. The report, titled “Understaffed and Overworked,” found that RCFE residents are sicker and more disabled than residents in the past and neither the regulatory structure nor business model for staffing levels has evolved accordingly. This means generally that understaffing in California RCFEs has increased.
Particularly harmful labor practices, like hiring caregivers to perform 24 hour shifts, failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, and completely inadequate training, leads to caregiver fatigue and frustration that ultimately results in poor quality care and resident suffering. The report recommends the adoption of mandated staffing ratios in RCFEs, like those that apply in California nursing homes and assisted living facilities in other states, and “reconceptualizing” RCFEs to offer different tiers of licensing based on varying levels of care.
Assisted Living Waiver Institutes Waitlist
In March 2017, California’s Assisted Living Waiver Program (ALWP) reached its capacity of 3700 participants. The Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) has instituted a waitlist, and on May 22, 2017 began accepting “Waitlist Request Forms.” Individuals interested in holding a spot on the waitlist should contact a Care Coordination Agency in their county to complete a one-page Waitlist Request Form. Please be advised that there are currently very significant wait times, due to the existing backlog of applications held by DHCS.
Individuals are nevertheless encouraged to submit a Waitlist Request Form to hold a spot on the list and to demonstrate to the State that there is strong demand for this program, and a need for expansion. For more information, please contact CANHR at 1(800) 474-1116.
Reverses Mortgage Whistle Blower Case Settles for $89 Million
The U.S. Department of Justice settled a False Claims Act against Financial Freedom who has agreed to pay 89 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with sales of reverse mortgages to seniors.
Read more about the case here.
Congress Establishes New Elder Justice Caucus
A new bipartisan caucus in the House of Representatives has been formed to seek extension of the 2009 Elder Justice Act and to tackle “the growing problem of elder abuse in America.” The Caucus is led by Rep. Peter King (NY) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR).
Read about the Caucus here…
CANHR Happenings
