Bill Text: IA SF2 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act related to spouse admission eligibility at the Iowa veterans home.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-19 - Subcommittee reassigned, Danielson, Costello, and Sodders. S.J. 76. [SF2 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2015-SF2-Introduced.html
Senate File 2 - Introduced SENATE FILE BY SODDERS A BILL FOR 1 An Act related to spouse admission eligibility at the Iowa 2 veterans home. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 1132XS (2) 86 aw/nh PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 35D.1, subsection 1, Code 2015, is 1 2 amended to read as follows: 1 3 1. a. The Iowa veterans home, located in Marshalltown, 1 4 shall be maintained as a long=term health care facility 1 5 providing nursing and residential levels of care for honorably 1 6 discharged veterans and theirdependentspouses, surviving 1 7 spouses of honorably discharged veterans, and gold star 1 8 parents. 1 9 b. The combined member population of spouses, surviving 1 10 spouses, and gold star parents admitted to the Iowa veterans 1 11 home shall not exceed twenty=five percent of the total member 1 12 population. 1 13 c. Eligibility requirements for admission to the Iowa 1 14 veterans home shall coincide with the eligibility requirements 1 15 for care and treatment in a United States department of 1 16 veterans affairs facility pursuant to 38 U.S.C. {1710, and 1 17 regulations promulgated under that section, as amended. 1 18 d. For the purposes of this subsection, "gold star parent" 1 19 means a parent of a deceased member of the United States armed 1 20 forces who died while serving on active duty during a time of 1 21 military conflict or who died as a result of such service. 1 22 Sec. 2. Section 35D.5, Code 2015, is amended to read as 1 23 follows: 1 24 35D.5 Surviving spouses and spouses of veterans. 1 25 1. If a deceased veteran, who would be entitled to admission 1 26 to the home if the deceased veteran were living, has left a 1 27 surviving spouse, the spouse is entitled to admission to the 1 28 home with the same rights, privileges, and benefits as if the 1 29 veteran were living and a member of the home, if the spouse 1 30 was married to the veteran for at least one year immediately 1 31 prior to the veteran's death, is found by the commandant to be 1 32 disabled, meets the qualifications for nursing or residential 1 33 level of care, and is a resident of the state of Iowa on the 1 34 date of the application and on the date immediately preceding 1 35 the date the application is accepted. 2 1 2. If a veteran, as defined in 38 U.S.C. {101, has a spouse 2 2 who is at least fifty=five years of age, the spouse is entitled 2 3 to admission to the home with the same rights, privileges, 2 4 and benefits as if the veteran were a member of the home, 2 5 if the spouse has been married to the veteran for at least 2 6 ten years immediately prior to the date the application is 2 7 accepted, is found by the commandant to be disabled, meets the 2 8 qualifications for nursing or residential level of care, and is 2 9 a resident of the state of Iowa on the date of the application 2 10 and on the date immediately preceding the date the application 2 11 is accepted. 2 12 EXPLANATION 2 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 14 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 15 This bill relates to spouse admission eligibility at the 2 16 Iowa veterans home (IVH). Under current law, certain spouses 2 17 of veteran members of the IVH are eligible for admission to 2 18 the IVH, as are certain surviving spouses of veterans if the 2 19 veteran would be eligible for admission, if not for being 2 20 deceased. 2 21 The bill provides additional eligibility to spouses 2 22 of living veterans who are not members of the IVH. To be 2 23 eligible, such a spouse is required to have been married to 2 24 the veteran for at least 10 years immediately prior to the 2 25 date the application is accepted, be disabled, and meet the 2 26 qualifications for nursing or residential level of care. Under 2 27 the bill, the spouse is also required to be a resident of the 2 28 state of Iowa on the date of the application and on the date 2 29 immediately preceding the date the application is accepted. LSB 1132XS (2) 86 aw/nh
