The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

State Legislators Override Rell's Veto on Medicaid Bill

On Tuesday the Democratic super-majority in the Connecticut legislature was successful in its efforts to override Gov. M. Jodi Rell's veto of a bill which dealt with the Department of Social Services and Medicaid waivers.  Please click here to read my earlier post on this issue which contains the particulars of the bill.

Although the Governor's spokesperson claims that the bill is flawed because it adds an extra layer of bureaucracy to the system, I think this is a very good political development for my Medicaid clients.  The authority to request Medicaid waivers is an important power which can dramatically alter the Medicaid landscape in Connecticut.  Giving that authority to the legislature instead of a single person means that any contemplated waivers will receive a higher level of scrutiny before being submitted to the federal government.

I will continue to keep you posted here on legislative developments that are pertinent to Medicaid, estate planning and probate law.

Gov. Rell's Veto of Medicaid-Related Bill Faces Override

Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed a bill on Wednesday which would have shifted more authority from the governor to the legislature in regards to requesting Medicaid waivers.  Such "waivers" are essentially requests that Connecticut can submit to the federal government for permission to administer the Medicaid program differently than other states.  The federal government gives states this opportunity in an effort to allow experimentation in running the Medicaid program and possibly develop better approaches toward achieving the intent of the program.

The vetoed bill would have required legislative approval before the governor could seek a waiver on behalf of Connecticut's Department of Social Services.  However, state Democrats hold a super-majority in the legislature and there is serious talk of gathering enough votes to override Gov. Rell's veto.  Such an override has not been accomplished in Connecticut since 1994.

Although the issue of a veto override is drawing the most media attention, the bill in question has a relatively significant impact on how the Medicaid program is run in Connecticut.  I will keep you posted on the outcome of the attempted veto override.

An Easy Way to Keep Track of Federal Legislation

One of my majors in college was political science and I want to share with readers a remarkable website that I recently ran into called Washington Watch which provides a nice summary of all the legislation that is currently pending in congress. 

The site gives you a very plain-English explanation of each bill and you can even post comments on any of the bills.  I also like the way that they indicate the average cost per family for each bill. 

This site is a must-bookmark for all political junkies.  I will certainly use this site to keep an eye on pending legislation that has an impact on the elderly or the estate tax.