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The Elizabeth Dole Act for Veterans: Details of the Bill, Eligibility & Advocacy
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Welcome to our critical discussion with Mark Gibbons, President and CEO of RetireSafe.org, on the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act of 2023 and its profound implications for veterans. One of the goals of this bill is to provide Veterans coverage for nursing home costs increaseing from 65% to a full 100%.
We venture with Mark through the intricate details of the bill, shedding light on its potential to broaden access to alternative care programs at all VA facilities and revolutionize long-term care for our veterans. Mark draws on his vast experience to share insights into the factors determining a veteran's eligibility for care, including location and disability level. He also highlights the government's initiatives to ensure veterans receive the care they need and the role of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in this endeavor.
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Senior LivingGuide.com Podcast discusses topics which are relevant to the everyday lives of seniors and their caregivers. We are joined by experts who share their knowledge on a variety of issues. Senior LivingGuide.com Podcast offers solutions and resources to create the best quality of life as we age. And now let's welcome your host, Darlene Mahoney.
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SPEAKER_04Today we are joined by Mark Gibbons. He is the president CEO for RetireSafe.org, helping to raise the platform in education and awareness for seniors across the nation. Before joining RetireSafe, Mark served nine years at Caregiver Action Network as a senior director of external programs. He has dedicated 10 years of service to the U.S. Army by serving as a commander in combat operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, as well as humanitarian efforts and operation Provide Comfort. And just a tidbit on retiresafe.org because most people probably are very unfamiliar with what that is. But it is a nonprofit whose mission is to promote and protect the well-being, independence, and rights of seniors through advocacy and education. And I'm really excited to have met Mark and have him join us today as we talk about a bill for veterans. And we love our veterans and we want them to have the very best in care. So having these bills is so super important. So thank you for joining us today, Mark.
SPEAKER_01Well, thanks for having me. Thank you. I really enjoy this. Uh it's always good to talk about veterans' issues.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, absolutely. We really need to continue to move our veterans' issues and make sure that they are getting the very best care forward. Um, so it's nice to know that there is a bill. Tell us what the name of the bill is and then tell us where it's at.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So the bill is called Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act of 2023. And there is a House bill, HR 542, and a companion bill in the Senate, which is 141. So this bill has made it out of committees. Now it is being vetted for like cost, things like that. Uh it what's it what's what's the benefit? So it'll still be another couple of months before it's actually introduced for a vote. But now the uh the members of Congress on both sides, the Senate and the House, are aware of it. It has gone past a committee, and uh that's a that's a big thing. And it was it was actually bipartisan. The house passed it out of committee in July of this year, and the Senate originally did this in February, so the the Senate side did it first. So they uh they passed it out of the committee February 16th, and the House July 26th. So they have co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle, so it is a bipartisan bill. Uh normally when you talk about veterans' issues, those are not nonpartisan. There isn't a big fight about that because everyone knows that veterans are an important issue to this country.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, absolutely. And I did notice that there was quite a bit of support on both sides of the aisle, which was really nice to see. And I will tell you, I I did a little research, and one thing that I noticed that it looked like part of the prompting of this bill was because military vets, a lot of them were being diagnosed with ALS, which a lot of people recognize as Lugaric's disease. And the the military, I guess, or the governments die designated ALS as a 100% military service connected disease. And so I think that was part of the prompting of this particular act.
SPEAKER_01No, you're exactly right. The problem is with ALS, uh, the veterans, especially the ones serving in the Vietnam era, Korea, I don't know if they have formally come out and said the exact causes of ALS, but there were so many exposures to different agents like Agent Orange or burn pits or other type of things that may have, as a cumulation, led to the actual diagnosis of ALS. I haven't heard so much from the Desert Shield as a storm campaigns, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. There are so many factors that that came into it. Again, it could have been the various things, again, exposure to whatever the enemy may have had in the field. Could have been our own burn pits when you're burning all these chemicals or you know, waste. Person that is diagnosed with ALS, most times they outlive their actual family caregiver. So we need to worry about how do we take care of these people for the long term.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, absolutely. What is included in the bill?
SPEAKER_01Right now, if a veteran is to go into a nursing home, the VA only covers currently 65% of the of the of that cost. This bill would increase it all the way up to 100%. So that's a major win for us. Okay. The bill would also seek to expand access to home and community-based alternative care programs for the veterans at all VA facilities, including the veterans living in the U.S. territories or native veterans and uh enrolled in the Indian health services or tribal health programs. What's important about that fact is that in the rural areas of America or the Indian reservations, there are not a lot of care facilities that can handle these type of things. And the VA has recognized that. So this would help supplement and get those in into a place. They're also creating a website with information and resources related to home and community-based care for veterans and their family caregivers.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so you said nursing home care. You know, we're in senior living, we're in senior housing. Nursing homes have such a wide variety on what that means, and there's so many different types of places that our seniors call home once they leave their, you know, private home or their aging in place. And typically a nursing home in our genre would be a skilled or long-term care facility, not an assisted living. You're referring to that.
SPEAKER_01That's what I'm referring to. However, just so you know, that they are evaluating the actual definition of nursing home in their language. So they are looking to expand it where it is assisted living. From what I understand, there are different levels of assisted living. Uh, there is one where you're more a lot more independent, some you may need occasional looking in, you know, people looking in, then full care. So I think that they're trying to define, expand the definition, and not use the word nursing home, but skilled facilities or assisted living facilities, depending on what level you are at.
SPEAKER_04Yes, absolutely. Assisted living communities can uh, and we like to call them communities because there is so much of an effort for these um assisted livings to make the communities more of a home environment with just different levels of care. Now, at some point you may exceed the level of care that they offer, and so you would need to move to somewhere that might offer more of a level of care, and that might be a skilled nursing or you know, long-term care facility or whatever the case may be. We do look at it somewhat differently, but I think that most assisted living communities really do try to serve those residents with whatever care levels that they need as they continue to age. Because sometimes they go in and they don't need that much care. And then sometimes you just need to add that on. So I think that that's super important. And I think it's great for veterans to be able to take on those services and they can move it into an assisted living community where they can maybe have a lower level of care and then grow with that community and age in place there per se as long as they can before they would need that nursing facility, what they're calling or referring to.
SPEAKER_01No, you're exactly right. I know uh an example for me is that my aunt was living at a uh a senior living facility at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. And when she started there, she was in her own apartment, you know, by herself. She had a kitchen independent. And as she aged and more things became apparent, then maybe then they moved to a different floor where she would still have more flexibility, but and it just it you got moved depending on what your need was. Now, in this facility, they also have a dedicated Alzheimer's dementia facility, which is not located in that building, but outside, and that's in a more secure area. So, you know, unfortunately, sometimes Alzheimer's dementia patients they tend to wander, so this is more of a secure area. Uh so like you said, depending on where you're at at your time in life, right there, you may need assistance, you may not. But I think the definition that they're looking to expand is to cover that type of um scenario.
SPEAKER_04So tell us what currently veterans have. If a veteran, a senior veteran has physical issues, do they qualify for going into any nursing facility, or is it veteran approved, or exactly how does that work?
SPEAKER_01Right. So there are a couple of options here. Uh one is they have VA specific living facilities, but the waiting line and uh to get in there, it is a long process. There is a way that you can find your own facility, and then you have to apply for it to get that program or that facility uh recognized by the federal government, which is easy to do. Another factor, though, is not necessarily that is uh also location. What is the closest VA facility to you? If you are two hours away or an hour and a half away from a VA recognized facility, then the VA recognizes and allows you to go to other facilities and they will compensate, currently like say right now, only about 65%. Let's say, for example, if you're disabled, you may only have a 70%, 80% disability, or you may have 100%. And if that's the case, then of course everything is 100% covered, nursing home, all that. But depending on what your level of uh disability is also a factor. So again, it's location where you're at. Are you trying to get into a uh VA facility that is actually run by the veteran affairs department? Or are you trying to find one that is um maybe recognized in your area because you're not close by? So there's a bunch of different factors in that.
SPEAKER_04Okay. And most veterans have gone through a process where they know what their level of disability is.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that is correct. Yes, they do that initially, and you'll you'll find out it's also in regards to what their level of uh compensation may be. That is one of the first things that they actually work on. Now, as you get older, you can apply to get a higher rate of disability as things progress, and you may or may not get that. That is determined right right out of the gate.
SPEAKER_04Okay, because I know that anytime you retire from the military, you get a level of disability. Um, whether you served in wartime or not wartime, do you know if you did not serve during wartime and your level of disability continues to grow that's completely unrelated, clearly, because you never served in wartime. Does that change, or is there a difference if you have a disability that's continued to grow based on an injury or something that's occurred due to serving in a war zone or wartime?
SPEAKER_01Right. No, there are a couple of different categories of ways that they actually uh figure that out. So let's say, for example, uh my wife, for example, she served 23 years in the reserves and never went to combat. But if she were, and she wasn't, but let's say she worked on vehicles and was in a maintenance shop, and over time she developed back problems, or although then the government then the government would recognize that, oh well, this person did 23 years in an auto mechanic shop. And so the heavy lifting thing, so they they monitor and they watch, you know, what is going on. For the veterans that were in combat, that's kind of a different category because you could have been exposed again to different chemicals, you could have been injured, like we have a lot of veterans coming back from Afghanistan, missing limbs because of uh explosions to their vehicles, things like that. There are different categories for that when they go for their annual physical to always be in and see how is this, is it progressing, is it getting worse, has it maintained and and leveled off, those type of things.
SPEAKER_04Right, right. So there's clearly man many variables that would come into play that I'm assuming is probably based on each person.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_04Okay, and probably a formula.
SPEAKER_01Uh there is a formula and the government. You know, they're one of the issues, and um some veterans that have been fortunate enough to remain healthy kind of frown upon other veterans who there are groups out there that will help you uh fill out your applications uh and and work the system so you can get a higher disability. Uh but they the VA has started really cracking down on that, and they're actually requiring medical tests. Before it was just you submit your paperwork, you go through an evaluation or screening, and it was a simple process. Now they've realized, like any any program that the government offers, whether it's military or not, there are ways to get around some of these things. They're starting to make it restricter to get in. Um but once you're in, you're really taken care of.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Elizabeth Dole, was she the one that introduced this bill?
SPEAKER_01No, she didn't introduce it. Of all all the great work that she's done for veterans, she has an Elizabeth Dole foundation that works with veterans returning, or and these are veterans that need family caregivers. So she created a family caregiving training program uh hand in hand with the VA that allows the family caregiver to get compensated to stay at home and take care of your loved one. Uh the work that she's done, and plus, you know, remember she was the head of the American Red Cross in her prior life. So all these things that she has done has been towards helping people, but mostly helping veterans, especially since her husband was really huge behind that. So that was a big, big deal, and that's why they decided to honor her and put her name on this bill.
SPEAKER_04Perfect. I'm loving the history lesson. I told you a little bit before we even started that I did a little bit of research, and I just find it fascinating, you know, what happens in our government, and then also everything that's done to benefit veterans and learning more about Bob and Elizabeth Dole in general. So I think we are actually gonna take this as a moment to take a break to thank our podcast sponsors, TransmedCare Long Distance Medical Transportation. And then when we come back, we're gonna talk a little bit about um what the plan is to implement this act and kind of what that looks like once it kind of gets started. Sounds good?
SPEAKER_01Perfect.
SPEAKER_05Hi, this is Andrew Brainerd, owner of Transmedcare Long Distance Medical Transportation. When the time comes to relocate a loved one under medical care, Transmedcare is here to help. We offer nationwide medical transport services with fully customized vans providing all the comforts of home and licensed medical professionals to accompany your loved one along every mile. At Transmedcare, nothing is more important than bringing your loved one home safely. Visit our website at trans-medcare.com.
SPEAKER_04All right, we are back with Mark from retireSafe.org, and we're gonna talk a little bit more about the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act of 2023, and that is called HR524 slash S141. I love this always along with all kinds of fun numbers. And we're gonna talk about the plan and what that looks like in establishing a potential pilot program. So can you give us more details on that, Mark?
SPEAKER_01Sure. So the pilot program is going to actually provide home health services to veterans that live in communities with a shortage of home health care providers. This is really huge for the rural area communities. So a little bit about the details. So when they roll this out, it's going to have 10 geographic locations to be selected by the VA across the country. The VA is then going to hire or reassign nurses in the VA system department of VA to actually relocate to those pilot areas, especially the ones in the rural areas that may have a shortage of home health care providers. This pilot program is going to be a three-year program. It also includes care for dementia, spinal cord injuries, or any type of diseases associated with that, ventilation and other specialties that the secretary decides at that time. In this case, it would be ALS and other things like that. This pilot program is going to be a full service, having nurses to come in or staff to help you take care of your loved ones at home. I know a lot of loved ones love to age at home, but sometimes you do need the help of someone from a healthcare professional to come in and help you at home. And there are a lot of great organizations that will that do that, and you really need to look into that to see what's out there and who they are. Because really, they also become part of your family. You become a home healthcare team. So it is good to find somebody that you are feel comfortable with and that has services in your area. But the VA is going to assist you with that by assigning you some nursing support, some skilled nursing support until we can do a transition to, you know, programs or get more healthcare providers trained in those rural areas. Or it may not even be a rural area, I mean it could be downtown Baltimore. There's a shortage wherever you go across this country, whether it's inner city or rural areas, suburbs, there's just a major shortage of home health care providers. And this kind of addresses it for the veterans at least.
SPEAKER_04Right. So this is very specifically a veteran-led program. This is not going to be a program that's just for anyone needing it.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_04It is specifically for veterans. I like that. I feel like our veterans get so lost so many times, and this is really something just for them, and something that they definitely need. And we definitely, you are so right, we were really having a shortage with our home care providers. And it really is important when you have someone that's a consistent person that's coming in versus you have one person one day and a different person another day. I know my mom had home care. She didn't have home health. She just had someone that came in, and so did my dad for a short period of time. But it was really important that my mom had the same person that would come because she would spend time with her. So she didn't need those extended services. Um, my mom was recovering from cancer surgery, so she just couldn't do a lot of physical things like the lighthouse keeping and that kind of thing. But it was really important that different people weren't coming in. It was just one consistent person, but having that skilled home health provider coming in to take care of more significant medical needs, et cetera, and having that same person consistently working with you as you're recovering or you're you're suffering from ALS or anything else is definitely going to be helpful in the grand scheme of things and make your life more comfortable. Um, just dating. Not even just specifically with that skill level of being able to take care of those physical needs. So I think that's really important as well.
SPEAKER_01You're exactly right. It comes down to two things trust and you have to be comfortable around them. And once these people learn the routines of the individual they're helping take care of, they actually become part of the family. I'm sure your mother is still, oh, I remember so-and-so, or you know, I really wonder how she's doing. You know, we should probably just call her. And they really become part of the family. And they also become part of family to you because you know that you can pick up the phone and call whoever. Hey Ann, this is, you know, and I'm just checking my mom. Oh, she's doing good, you know, she was, and and they also pick up little things that as somebody that's in every, you know, you get a different caregiver in every day, every other day, a health home care provider, they don't notice the little, you know, she was a little bit more twitchy today, or she seemed a little bit more moody than usual, or and establishing that is really comforting to me as the family caregiver and also for the patient.
SPEAKER_04Or even mom had a good day today versus mom had a bad day yesterday.
SPEAKER_01Exactly.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Oh, I I I a hundred percent agree with that. So, what are some other things that are they doing to get this information out, or where you can maybe sign up, or where these locations are going to be? Do you have any anything beyond?
SPEAKER_01No, I haven't heard any because again, the uh the bill is now on both sides of the house, it's still being floated. Again, like they're giving the they're looking at the definition of the uh nursing home. So there's still a lot of details that are being worked out. Once the bill looks like it is going to be passed and voted on and become a law, at that point they will implement and start researching and identifying, or at least publicly identifying what the 10 pilot programs are going to be. I'm sure somewhere in a back office somebody has a list already, but it has not been made public knowledge yet.
SPEAKER_04Okay. So when um it does, do you think there'll be a website where people can get information?
SPEAKER_01Yes, right. So part of this bill is requiring the VA to create a website with information and resources related to the home and community-based programs. So that will be one of the things that they get up and running immediately. Okay. And it'll also be a way for you to sign up.
SPEAKER_04And that would be for caregivers and the veterans.
SPEAKER_01That is correct. It just isn't the the the veteran, because sometimes, as you know, maybe the patient, the veteran, is not capable of doing these things by themselves, so they need the family caregiver to go to do that for them.
SPEAKER_04100%. 100%. I know you mentioned this, but I can't really remember it, to be honest with you. What is the time frame where we look like this maybe may pass and we may start seeing some movement on this?
SPEAKER_01Well, right now with the current situation, we don't know what's what's going on. I mean, you know, we're still under uh a CR right now, trying to get funding to keep the government open. Realistically, though, with a election year coming up, unfortunately, I don't see this being passed until maybe late next year. If not, it'll be what the new administration may do. It just depends on what is done. And unfortunately, that's just a realistic view of it.
SPEAKER_04Right. So we could be looking a year out. So if someone's listening to this podcast, it's not something that's going to happen within the next three, four, five, six months, most likely. Might be more of a year out, and then it would be a pilot program for about three years.
SPEAKER_01This is where we need your help to get it to that point.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01So right now we know that it's floating about on the Senate and the House side. This is where your listeners can contact their legislator and say, hey, I understand there's a bill, uh, you know, HR 542 or Senate side 141. And we really think this is a good idea. So whenever there's a town hall meeting or a way to interact with your member or his staff or his or her staff, then mention this bill and say, hey, I think this is really important. And so although it may not get to that stage for another year, year and a half, if it's always fresh in the minds, it may speed up the process.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. I think it's always good if you have a vested interest in something, you have a voice. That's what makes this country so great. Is that you do have a voice, it's just finding that voice. This is something that's important to you. Anything that's important to you, if veterans' benefits are important to you, that's what makes this country so great. We can always reach out to our representatives, and that's what makes Google a fabulous thing. You can go online, find your federal legislator, and find their phone number, uh, social media, um, what town meetings that they're attending and letter writing. And you can join veteran groups as well.
SPEAKER_01So just like you stated, you want to get involved, attend those town hall meetings, get involved in social media. Social media has become a really big way to contact your legislator. Their staffers on the hill are all 20-something year olds, and they monitor social media left and right. Uh, so there are a lot of social media campaigns that are going on. You can always get on their website or their Facebook or something and go, hey, I understand there's this bill. We are in support of it. The thing about um getting bills passed is putting a name uh a face or a voice behind a letter or a phone call. It's always good for the representative to see or the senator to see a real person. If they can see that and they can relate it to somebody, that makes so much more sense and it carries so much more cloud.
SPEAKER_04So is there an email address available as well when you where you can email them?
SPEAKER_01There are emails, you just have to go onto each individual site. Usually there is a uh a military affairs office worker, and I forget what their actual names are called now. They just it's I just drew a blank, but there are different people. There, like there's somebody that handles healthcare, somebody that handles military issues. So if you just look at their website or or their directory, it'll tell you who handles military affairs, then just send that person an email or or tag them on social media.
SPEAKER_04Okay, that's good to know because I think that sometimes you just want to get what you need to say, and you can do that in an email. Um, and then it also has your contact information if someone from that office needs to contact you as well. So um, so do you have any more tips for getting involved or anything regarding this bill or being active for veterans' benefits?
SPEAKER_01Sure. No, it's one thing I would say or or I would add what you've already covered is um when you see those those events going on in town, like Veterans Day is coming up or uh, you know, other type of holidays associated with the military, attend them, reach out, go by a VFW, introduce yourself. You may not be a veteran, you may not qualify to be a member, but let them know that you're there to support them. Let them know about this bill and then bring it to their attention because maybe they don't know. Um, and offer to help out at different types of issues. So, you know, what can you do in a letter writing campaign? Just offer your assistance. We always need volunteers at all organizations. I mean, I wish I I had a lot more volunteers, but anytime you can get some people to help with a passion, that really goes a long way.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I love that. And do it with a passion.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. If you're listening to this podcast and you would like more information on retiresafe.org, you can visit the website at retiresafe.org. And then that's uh Mark's website, and you can learn more about the different things that he does and the different things that retiresafe.org does as well. And if you enjoyed this podcast, thank you so much for joining us, Mark. We appreciate having you with us today. And we also have multiple other podcasts with different topics, which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Alexa, Good Pods, and many more wherever you listen and consume your music andor podcasts.
