N A E L A - National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

Executive Director’s Message
By Susan B. McMahon, Esq.
The battle that NAELA waged
regarding the Medicaid legislation
that resulted in the Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) was
not fought in vain. A great deal
was accomplished.
To put this battle in perspective
we must recognize the larger
budget issues that were simultaneously
being addressed. There
were issues of greater visibility and
impact than Medicaid: homeland
security, Medicare Part B premiums,
the new Medicare drug bill,
physician payment rates, relief for
victims of Hurricane Katrina, tax
cut extensions, and finally, funding
the war in Iraq.
Within Medicaid itself, the
transfer of asset provisions were
not as easily understood as benefit
reductions and cost sharing for
low-income children and pregnant
women, or reimbursement cuts for
pharmacists.
It was in this unfavorable environment
that NAELA developed
and implemented a multi-faceted
strategy for approaching the
Medicaid fight.
The strategy required simultaneous
approaches to education,
coalition building, communication,
media activity, and membership
involvement. Fortunately, the
groundwork had been laid in many
of these areas throughout the past
several years by NAELA's public
policy and advocacy activities.
Building a Positive
Reputation
For more than a year, NAELA's
Public Policy Committee, chaired
by Charlie Sabatino, the
Medicaid Strategies Task Force, led
by Vincent Russo, and the
NAELA Board of Directors worked
unceasingly to stop the harmful
provisions of DRA.
Brian Lindberg,
Susan McMahon
along with two
hired lobbyists, Howard Cohen
and Chris Jennings, were key
players in contacting and educating
members of congress, congressional
staff, and coalition partners
about transfers of assets in context
of long-term care planning. Ann
Krauss and Stan Samples with
Kellen Communications also
worked diligently on the Public
Relations side to ensure that the
media had access to NAELA
experts and information on our
position. We should not forget
NAELA Past President Bernie
Krook's testimony on April 27,
2005, before the House Energy
and Commerce Committee, or
Brian Lindberg, Trish Nemore,
and Vincent Russo's briefing to
the staff of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee and the
Senate Finance Committee staff on
Medicaid eligibility rules.
Additionally, NAELA was able to
influence the views of the Senate
Special Committee on Aging and
key Finance Committee members
when Vincent Russo testified at
the hearing on July 20, 2005.
Vincent's testimony on NAELA's
proactive reform proposals became
an important aspect of NAELA's
public policy campaign. The development
of alternative proposals to
address congressional concerns
about so called "fraudulent" transfers
of assets was essential to
establishing credibility with
Congress. NAELA's recommendations
and proposals were reviewed
favorably by the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) as providing
savings to the program and
enhanced NAELA's credibility with
Members of Congress and the congressional
staff. On September 7,
2005, Vincent Russo debated
Stephen Moses at the Cato
Institute, in Washington, DC.
More than 125 individuals attended
- many of them key players in the
health care policy world. These
activities led to congressional staff
asking NAELA to submit questions
for committee hearings, to analyze
legislation, and even to draft legislative
language. It is clear that
NAELA has successfully secured a
role as an expert and valued
resource for Members of Congress
and congressional staff, and for its
colleagues in the aging network.
Coalitions and Relationships
NAELA has been working with
coalitions in Washington, D.C. for
more than 10 years. Represented
by Brian Lindberg and Charlie
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executive director’s message
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