BILL NUMBER: S8055

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to eligibility for
admission to New York state veterans' homes

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to slightly expand the eligibility
for admission to a New York State Veterans' Home.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:z

  Section  1.  Paragraph  (h)  of  subdivision  1 of section 2632 of the
Public Health Law, as amended by section 3 of part E of  chapter  57  of
the laws of 2024 by expanding the eligibility requirements for admission
to  a  New York State Veterans' Home. To meet eligibility, you must have
been a resident of NYS at the time of entry upon active duty or had been
a resident of NYS for six months preceding the application for admission
or have an immediate family member who has ben a resident of NYS for one
              

year to date of application for admission. For purposes of  this  legis-
lation, 'immediate family member' includes a spouse, birth parent, adop-
tive  parent, child, sibling, stepparent, stepchild, stepsibling, grand-
parent or grandchild.

  Section 2. Establishes the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

Not applicable at this time.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

While changes were recently made to this section of law (2024), there is
still a slight change that needs to be made. Throughout an  individual's
life,  they  may have enlisted in one state, moved to another state when
they came home, and their family  may  have  relocated  to  yet  another
state.

A  veteran  living in another state may have a family member residing in
New York. Their independence could be declining a bit, and  before  that
happened, they may have been able to live and flourish on their own with
no  help or additional support. However, once that independence is gone,
having family close by could benefit the  veterans  the  rest  of  their
lives.  Once  this  starts  to  happen, it is important they can be near
their New York family by living in a New York State Veterans Home.  With
the  six-month  residence  requirement,  it  would  be difficult for the
veteran to obtain residency in our state, without  first  being  a  six-
month  resident. By allowing an immediate family member to be a resident
of New York State, a family would be able to assist in filling  out  the
forms  necessary  for  the  veteran to be accepted into a home, with the
ability to move in directly  upon  acceptance.  Often,  the  veteran  is
unable  to  live on their own for six months to establish residency, and
their family is unable take them in and care  for  them  for  those  six
months either.


We  know that veterans, and our elderly in general, benefit greatly from
having family nearby. By adding a family member who has been a  resident
of  New  York State for a minimum of a year as an additional eligibility
option, the veteran will clearly benefit having  the  support  of  their
family living in the vicinity.

This  legislation  is  needed to keep veterans near their families. They
have served our country, and it should not matter which state they lived
in when they joined our military or where they resided when  it  becomes
evident  that  they can no longer live on their own. We should bend over
backwards to serve those who have served us so admirably.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is new legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

There are no fiscal implications associated with  the  passage  of  this
legislation.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.