Department of Veterans Affairs April 22, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend how VA determines the ``spousal resource protection amount,'' which is the amount of liquid assets of a veteran and community (i.e., not institutionalized) spouse that is considered unavailable when calculating the veteran's maximum monthly copayment obligation for extended care services longer than 180 days. This proposed rule would define the ``spousal resource protection amount'' by reference to the Maximum Community Spouse Resource Standard, which is published each year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. This change would have the immediate effect of increasing the spousal resource protection amount from $89,280 to $115,920, and would ensure that the spousal resource protection amount stays consistent with the comparable protection for the spouses of Medicaid recipients.