ALBANY, N.Y., May 18 – The state would be required to establish a long-term care insurance program that would provide every state employee with coverage in the same way that health insurance benefits are already available, under legislation sponsored by Senator Vincent L. Leibell (R/C-Dutchess) and Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley (D-Westchester).

The legislation would provide insurance for admission to a nursing home selected by the employee or retiree that is no less than the average daily cost of a nursing home in the region in which the employee resides. This coverage would be provided for the duration of the employees or retirees stay.

The bill also allows for in-home care coverage and nursing home coverage to any employee or retiree over age 70 that was an active state employee at the time of this section. It would also make everyone covered under the program ineligible for Medicaid coverage.

The cost of nursing home or in-home care coverage is becoming nearly unobtainable for the average middle class person in New York State, said Bradley. As a result, people are either forced to spend their life savings, or divest all of their assets so as to become destitute and be paid under state and federal Medicaid programs.In an aging society, this is resulting in the explosion of ever-upward Medicaid costs, and forcing citizens to either lose everything they have worked for in life, or to hire estate planners to divest their assets. Medicaid has to pick up a real-time cost-of-coverage that should be planned for over time.

Leibell concluded that although the bill would require the state to pay for a group long-term care insurance policy for its state employees and retirees, it would result in millions in cost savings through its Medicaid coverage exclusion.