Committee approves Bellows bill to support Mainers with terminal diagnoses

A bill sponsored by Sen. Shenna Bellows, D-Manchester, to help Mainers with terminal illnesses passed in the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee in a unanimous vote on Friday. LD 362, “Resolve, To Require the Department of Health and Human Services To Submit a State Plan Amendment To Exempt Retirement and Educational Assets from Calculations for Medicaid Eligibility,” ­­­­­would make it so Mainers facing a terminal diagnosis would not have to deplete savings meant for their children’s education or their spouse’s retirement when applying for Medicaid coverage.

“When you receive a terminal diagnosis, you’re already dealing with so much, and under current law, you also have to worry that you’re not only leaving your family without their mother or father, but that you may have to end any hopes and dreams of your child going to college, or your spouse having a comfortable retirement, and that’s just wrong,” said Sen. Bellows. “A constituent was faced with this dilemma after being diagnosed with ALS, and while it is too late for him, we should ensure that no one else ends up in his situation.”

LD 362 ­­­­requires the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to request a waiver from the federal government to be allowed to make a change in Medicaid eligibility requirements for individuals with disabilities under 65 years of age who have dependent children living in the home by disregarding assets held in qualifying retirement and education accounts.

The bill faces votes in the Maine Senate and House in the coming weeks.