HM 1353

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to amend Medicaid transfer of asset rules.
4
5	WHEREAS, there are limited public dollars available for
6	Medicaid coverage, and
7	WHEREAS, it is important to use these limited public
8	resources to assist those individuals who cannot afford to
9	provide for their own nursing care needs, and
10	WHEREAS, those individuals who have sufficient resources
11	should be expected to pay for their own nursing care needs, and
12	WHEREAS, estate planners employ numerous tactics to enable
13	their clients to divest their wealth so that they may qualify
14	for Medicaid long-term care benefits, and
15	WHEREAS, federal laws regarding transfers of assets prevent
16	states from creating stricter rules to deter individuals from
17	divesting their assets in order to qualify for Medicaid, NOW,
18	THEREFORE,
19
20	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	That the Congress of the United States is requested to
23	amend federal Medicaid laws to allow individual states to
24	establish transfer of asset laws that are stricter than the
25	federal laws in order to ensure that limited public resources
26	are used to assist those individuals who cannot afford to
27	provide for their own nursing care needs.
28	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
29	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
30	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
31	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
32	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.