NEW LEGISLATION AFFECTING SENIORS (2018 Session)

The Office of Legislative Research for the State of Connecticut has published some of the new laws passed by the Connecticut legislature during the 2018 session.  Here are some of those new laws which were effective either when passed or as of October 1, 2018 unless otherwise noted:

• Emergency Medical Response System Contract: If you have a personal emergency medical response system contract, the new law provides that upon the death of the consumer, the contract terminates. It further provides that any contract provision that calls for a penalty for early termination of the contract is unreasonable.
• Essential Health Benefits: Effective January 1, 2019, certain health insurance policies will be required to cover specified preventive health services, including screening for osteoporosis for women age 60 or older.
• Medicare Savings Program (MSP): The Medicare Savings Program which was scheduled to lower the asset amount for eligibility as of July 1, 2018, thus disqualifying many Medicare beneficiaries from receiving this subsidy, has been eliminated, keeping the current income limits intact.
• Protections for Reverse Mortgages: There are now stronger counseling and certification requirements before homeowners can be approved for an application. Prospective applicants, or their representatives, are required to receive counseling from a federal HUD approved agency.  Lenders must also now receive and store a certificate from the applicant stating that the counseling requirements were met.
• Money Follows the Person: This program allows individuals who have been institutionalized for at least 90 days and meet Medicaid eligibility to transition from the long-term care institution back to a community-based setting.  Prior to this law being passed, there was a limit of 5,000 participants in the program.  That cap has now been removed.
• Telehealth Providers: Registered nurses and pharmacists have been added to the list of health care providers authorized to provide telehealth services.

Full texts of each of these laws and other laws passed in the last legislative session can be found online at www.cga.ct.gov.