A former Hamilton County nonprofit bookkeeper is set to serve 22
months in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding several of
the organization’s incapacitated senior citizen clients of more than
$79,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana
announced Wednesday.
District Court Chief James Sweeney II imposed the sentence
on Brenda Walters, 57, of Nappanee, Indiana, after she pleaded guilty
to 10 counts of wire fraud. Sweeney also ordered Walters to forfeit
$79,272, roughly the amount she pleaded guilty to stealing from the
individuals. Following her prison time, Walters will have three years of
supervised release.
According to court documents, an unidentified Hamilton County
nonprofit organization that provides programs and services for elderly
adults hired Walters as a part-time bookkeeper around August 2023.
Walters managed the financial accounts of about 23 clients in the
organization’s guardianship program, which, according to the
government’s May 1, 2025, indictment against Walters, acts as a
court-appointed legal guardian for incapacitated adults and manages the
finances of those adults who are unable.
Walters specifically handled taking over clients’ financial accounts to pay bills and manage their money.
According to the indictment, for about a year from August 2023 to
August 2024, Walters devised and executed a scheme to defraud her
clients.
The indictment states that Walters transferred funds from the
clients’ Horizon Bank accounts to her personal American Express, Capital
One and other accounts.
Walters used the clients’ funds to pay her own expenses, including
her electric and insurance bills, buying clothes, hosting parties and
vacationing to places such as New York City, Florida and Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee.
The government stated that, to hide the theft, Walters submitted
false bank statements to her supervisors. Those statements did not show
Walters’s personal transfers.
In one instance, Walters created a United Healthcare medical bill
supposedly showing that a client had paid the same amount for which
Walters had actually transferred to a personal Apple Card, according to
the indictment.
In total, Walters stole about $79,000 from at least six of the guardianship program’s clients.
“Brenda Walters preyed exclusively on some of the most vulnerable
members of our society—elderly Hoosiers who could no longer manage their
own finances and entrusted her to safeguard their life savings,” said
Tom Wheeler, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, in the Wednesday press release.
“Her conduct was not a momentary lapse in judgment but a calculated
scheme to enrich herself at the expense of people who had no ability to
defend themselves. This office will continue to pursue justice for
victims who are targeted because of their age, incapacity, or dependence
on others.”
According to her December petition to enter a plea of guilty, Walters originally faced a maximum statutory punishment of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case is United States of America v. Brenda Walters (1:25-cr-00098)
HANCOCK
COUNTY—Waldo County’s top prosecutor may charge Hancock County’s
suspended probate judge with criminal perjury after he lied under oath
in October.
Earlier this month, a Waldo County judge
found that William B. Blaisdell IV, who has faced multiple contempt
hearings over overdue child support payments to his ex-wife, perjured
himself during his sworn testimony about his finances, according to
court documents.
Natasha Irving — district attorney for
Waldo, Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties — said her office is at the
“very beginning stages” of reviewing the case. Irving said she was in
contact with the Attorney General’s Office, who oversees child support
matters through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Blaisdell’s divorce is being handled in Waldo County because of his role as a probate judge in Hancock County.
If Irving’s office does prosecute
Blaisdell, he would be facing his first criminal charge; all of his
divorce proceedings have been civil matters.
Criminal
perjury, a charge brought by a prosecutor, carries a higher burden of
proof than a family court factual finding: prosecutors must prove beyond
a reasonable doubt that the person knowingly lied under oath.
Perjury is a Class C felony and is punishable by up to five years of incarceration and a $5,000 fine.
A Waldo County judge wrote on April 2 that
Blaisdell committed perjury when he testified on Oct. 29, 2025, about
his depleted brokerage accounts, which he claimed left him unable to pay
child support.
Just two days after his sworn testimony,
Blaisdell, under a court order, provided his ex-wife’s lawyer with
copies of his financial statements, showing he had $166,291 in his
Charles Schwab brokerage account and $344,080 in a separate IRA account,
according to court documents.
The
court found that Blaisdell’s perjured testimony was “an attempt to
avoid a suspended thirty-day jail sentence” for being found in contempt
of court for not complying with the court’s child support orders.
The court said Blaisdell had a “history of
noncompliance,” a “pattern of satisfying outstanding obligations only
at the last moment to avoid jail sanctions” and has made “continued
attempts to manipulate the Court,” according to an order on the court’s
findings.
“Elijah’s situation has become dire on multiple fronts,” the singer claims in new court filings
By Daniel Kreps, Nancy Dillon
Cher is once again seeking an emergency conservatorship over Elijah Blue Allman
after back-to-back arrests in New Hampshire landed her 49-year-old son
with Gregg Allman in a locked psychiatric hospital, court documents
reveal.
“Elijah’s situation has become dire on multiple fronts. His mental
health has severely deteriorated, his financial situation is terrible,
and his drug dependency is at its worst,” the new filings made this week
in Los Angeles County probate court and obtained by Rolling Stone allege.
Cher claims her son’s life has spiraled since she first sought conservatorship control over
his finances in a December 2023 bid that ended with a private
settlement. In her prior effort, Cher told the court that Allman
“urgently needed” help managing his assets amid “severe mental-health
and substance-abuse issues.” Cher was initially rebuffed by the judge
and ultimately resolved the matter privately in September 2024, with Allman promising to hire a business manager. She says he never did.
Since that time, Allman has been “living wildly beyond his means,”
bouncing between “expensive hotels he cannot afford” and short-term
rental homes, allegedly causing more than $50,000 in damage to one
Airbnb, and purportedly racking up an $18,000 bill with a drug dealer,
the new filings state. He also has an unpaid tax bill topping $200,000,
Cher claims, and is facing a raft of criminal charges.
Allman was first arrested on Feb. 27 at St. Paul’s School in Concord,
New Hampshire, on suspicion of trespassing, criminal threats, and simple
assault, a bail order obtained by Rolling Stone confirms.
According to WMUR 9 News, Allman allegedly slipped onto campus claiming
he was a prospective parent, turned belligerent, and poked a student
with his cane. Allman was booked and released, then arrested again two
days later on a burglary rap in Windham, New Hampshire, after a woman
called police saying someone had broken into her home, and she was
“hiding in a closet,” according to a police affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone.
Officers arrived to find a shattered glass door and Allman “seated on
the living room couch smoking a cigarette,” the report says.
“Since the proposed conservatee is currently in custody in a
psychiatric hospital in New Hampshire, this application does not seek a
conservatorship of the person. However, the facts underlying this
petition are not only relevant to establish the proposed conservatee’s
total inability to manage his finances, but the facts also establish
that he is gravely disabled,” Cher’s conservatorship request states. It
adds that a more thorough conservatorship over Allman’s personal life
likely would be “appropriate for him once he returns to California.”
The new documents say Elijah still receives $120,000 a month via a
trust that his father Gregg set up prior to the Allman Brothers Band
singer’s death. That monthly payment is then “immediately squandered
without regard for his liabilities or well-being,” the court filings
say.
“There is a clear pattern in Elijah’s behavior,” Cher alleged in the
documents filed by her lawyer. “After he receives his trust
distribution, he checks into a hotel, usually the Chateau Marmont, buys
and does drugs until he runs out of money, ends up in the hospital, or
overdoses. Based on this pattern, if Elijah were to receive his trust
distribution, he will use it buy drugs.”
The conservatorship filings also detail other instances where Allman
allegedly was a danger to himself or others, including an episode where
he passed out in his car in the middle of traffic and ended up in a
hospital, where he was administered Narcan. “There have been multiple
occasions in which Elijah caused grease fires while cooking after zoning
out and forgetting that food was on the stove,” the filing states.
Allman’s sister, Devon Allman, submitted a declaration in support of
the new conservatorship request. “It is my opinion that he is currently a
danger to himself and unable to manage his life, and any funds that
would become available to him,” she wrote. “My recent visit to check in
on him brought me unfortunate and profound sadness that took weeks of my
life to process. His condition, both physical and mental, was appalling
and delusional, respectively.”
Devon said she previously was compelled to “negotiate with a heroin
dealer for a five-figure sum of drug debts” because her brother was
unable to pay. “That was very difficult to navigate. I felt compelled to
help for his safety, though,” she wrote. “I strongly urge that Elijah
be kept away from money until he has demonstrated a commitment to invest
in his long-term physical and mental health.”
When Cher initially filed for a conservatorship back in 2023, she asked
to be named her son’s financial conservator. This time, she’s asking
the court to appoint Jason Rubin, a licensed private fiduciary. She’s
asking the court to grant Rubin the power to receive her son’s trust
distributions and use them to pay Allman’s expenses at his discretion,
pending the outcome of the proceeding.
Elijah has an arraignment in his Concord criminal case set for Monday,
and a probable-cause hearing in his Windham case set for next Wednesday,
a court spokesman tells Rolling Stone. It’s likely they will get continued to later dates, considering Allman’s hospitalization.
During a Senate hearing today, the American Bankers Association
Foundation outlined the critical role banks play in protecting older
Americans from fraud and financial exploitation while calling for
strengthened national coordination, expanded financial literacy efforts
and clear federal authority for banks to intervene when exploitation is
expected.
The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on financial education tools to help prevent fraud. In prepared remarks,
Sam Kunjukunju, vice president for consumer engagement at the ABA
Foundation, explained that banks are uniquely positioned to help older
customers recognize and avoid scams due to their trusted, long-standing
relationships and daily interactions with consumers.
Still, banks can’t fight fraud alone, he said.
“While
the banking industry is investing significantly in protecting older
people, the scale and sophistication of today’s scams require a
strategic and coordinated national response,” Kunjukunju said. “America
needs a nationwide public education campaign that brings together
federal agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector to deliver a
unified, consistent message.”
Legislative tools
A national
effort to fight fraud must be grounded in a broader commitment to
lifelong financial literacy, and it should align with key life
milestones, including entering the workforce, managing credit, starting a
family, purchasing a home and planning for retirement, Kunjukunju said.
He
also called on Congress to consider legislation that would provide
banks with clear authority and safe harbor protections to delay or hold
transactions when elder financial exploitation is suspected to help
safeguard older Americans at moments of heightened vulnerability.
“Through
sustained investments in education, training, cross-sector
partnerships, and responsible innovation, we continue to strengthen the
frontline defenses to combat elder financial exploitation,” Kunjukunju
said. “But as our population ages and financial crimes grow more
sophisticated, these efforts must be accompanied by a policy framework
capable of meeting the moment.”
After a private guardian with dozens of clients was accused of financial
abuse, the public office took on zero wards. The alleged abuser
retained six.
By Andrew Wegley
Jaclyn Daake looked everywhere.
The Alma attorney’s new
client, a western Nebraska man living with a developmental disability,
needed a guardian, someone to manage his life and finances. His guardian
for the past two years, a York County woman who served in the
court-appointed role for dozens of vulnerable Nebraskans, had just been charged with stealing from one of her clients. Law enforcement was looking for other victims.
Daake
scoured court records, searching for anyone who might be willing to
serve as the man’s guardian. She wrote letters to 11 people. Eventually,
she reached an old friend of the man’s grandfather, who despite the
distant connection was willing to serve as his guardian, she said. He
was appointed in February, three months after Daake started her search.
During
that time, there was one place Daake did not turn: Nebraska’s Office of
Public Guardian, the government office meant to serve as the last
resort for Nebraskans deemed — often due to old age, disabilities or
injuries — unable to care for themselves.
“It’s a waste of time,” Daake said.
When
vulnerable Nebraskans don’t have any loved ones willing or able to
serve as their guardians, judges often appoint private, for-profit
guardians to fill the role. Lawmakers created the Office of Public
Guardian in 2014 after one such guardian with more than 600 wards stole
thousands of dollars from her unknowing clients.
But with constant demand and stagnant funding, attorneys say Nebraska’s guardian of last resort isn’t a resort at all.
The
Public Guardian initially turned down 98% of appointments in the
12-month reporting period that ended Oct. 31, up from 77% in 2020,
according to the office’s annual reports, most often because the office
has no caseload capacity. State law prevents the office from accepting
more than an average of 20 appointments per guardian on its staff.
The
office’s inability to take on new cases has boiled to a point of
frustration for attorneys like Daake — particularly after the November
arrest of Becky Stamp, who wielded near total control over the lives and
finances of vulnerable people across 18 counties before she was accused
of stealing thousands from a man whose life she managed.
“I
guess my ultimate question — and this is where I get on my soapbox — is
why do we have this program if it’s kind of smoke and mirrors?” Daake
said.
For more than a month after her arrest, Stamp remained the guardian for at least 25 vulnerable Nebraskans, the Flatwater Free Press reported in January.
Advocates called it “a systemic failure” to protect the victims caught
up in the sweeping abuse scandal, among the 10,000-plus Nebraskans who
have been placed under guardianships or conservatorships. In at least
some cases, the Public Guardian’s lack of caseload capacity helped leave
Stamp’s authority in place for longer.
Lawmakers and judicial
branch leaders have implemented new regulations and safeguards this year
aimed at private guardians like Stamp. But legislators, facing a budget
shortfall this year, made no adjustment to the Public Guardian’s
budget.
Nearly five months after her arrest, Stamp remains the
appointed guardian for six vulnerable Nebraskans, according to a
Flatwater review of court filings. In three of those cases, attorneys
petitioned the Public Guardian to take over.
Each time, the
response was the same: “The Office of Public Guardian is unable to
accept the nomination due to caseload capacity limitations having been
reached.”
‘There’s not the political will’
Michelle Chaffee led the Office of Public Guardian from its inception in 2014, when lawmakers made Nebraska the last state in the country to create a central office for guardianship.
“I
started the office,” she said. “I built the office. I worked for it to
be credible, (hiring) really high-performance individuals who would care
for people who have no voice and make sure they were protected because
they can’t speak for themselves.”
But she retired in 2024 after years of leading a staff of underpaid public servants, she said, and fighting legislative attempts to increase their caseload
capacity. The job is “really, really tough” and turnover is high, she
told a committee of lawmakers in 2023. “You can make a lot more money
doing things with a lot less stress because of what our salaries are,”
she said then.
Among the final straws that led to Chaffee’s retirement, she said: Gov. Jim Pillen’s decision in May 2023 to line-item veto
$500,000 lawmakers had earmarked for the office over two years. Pillen
argued Nebraska’s judicial branch, which oversees the Public Guardian
Office, had “enough funding to manage potential increases in demand for
these services.”
Before her retirement, Chaffee said she
calculated the office would soon need up to 100 public guardians and an
operating budget of about $6 million to meet the state’s needs.
The
office’s budget last year was $2.9 million — about $267,000 less than
what the agency had sought from lawmakers, according to state budget
documents. The budget paid for 30 employees, around 20 of whom were
associate public guardians serving wards across the state.
“Bottom
line,” Chaffee said, “there’s not the political will and commitment to
provide services to the most vulnerable in Nebraska.”
The
Public Guardian accepted more than 22% of the appointments to which it
was nominated in 2020, but that rate plummeted to 1.6% last year,
according to its annual reports, most often attributable to lack of
caseload capacity. More than 75% of nominations have been declined due
to lack of capacity since November 2021.
Most cases the office
declines to take head to a waitlist, where wards can wait up to 90 days
for a vacancy to open. If that doesn’t happen, they’re removed from the
waitlist altogether, the fate most cases meet. Last year, the Public
Guardian took on 32 of the 121 cases that had been referred to the
waitlist.
No Capacity
Nebraska’s
Office of Public Guardian has accepted fewer and fewer appointments to
serve vulnerable Nebraskans since 2021, increasingly because the
state-funded office does not have the capacity to take them on.
Year
Nominations
No Capacity*
Accepted
2025
124
103
2
2024
132
101
8
2023
115
83
14
2022
94
67
15
2021
112
76
21
* Cases
in which the Office of the Public Guardian told the courts they did not
have enough capacity to serve when nominated. Each “year” reflects a
12-month reporting period that ends Oct. 31.
Corey
Steel, the state court administrator who oversees the operations of
Nebraska’s judicial branch, said that once a ward is assigned a public
guardian, they typically remain on the office’s caseload until a court
deems they can care for themselves or they die. The rate at which either
happens is far lower than how often the office is nominated to serve.
“And so that’s the quandary we sit in,” he said. “Without more associate public guardians … we’re at that capacity level.”
Sen.
Wendy DeBoer of Omaha, who authored guardianship reform efforts before
and after Stamp’s arrest last year, noted that she has tried to secure
more funding for the office, including the $500,000 Pillen vetoed.
“But
I don’t think it’s ever going to be the answer to fully do everything
through the OPG,” she said. “We’re going to have to do some of it
through private guardianships. It’s always a balance.”
‘You don’t want to overcorrect’
Nebraska’s
legislative and judicial branches have both sought to reform the
state’s guardianship system in the months since Stamp’s arrest.
Lawmakers voted 49-0 last week
to send to Pillen’s desk a bill that DeBoer sponsored preventing
private guardians from taking on more than 20 cases at a time — the same
caseload limit state law already puts on public guardians. Stamp had
been nominated as the guardian for 42 wards.
The bill also
requires private guardians to visit the Nebraskans they serve at least
once every three months and guarantees wards the right to attend court
hearings in their own cases virtually or in person.
Sen.
Wendy DeBoer of Omaha sponsored a bill this year preventing private
guardians from taking on more than 20 cases at a time, among other
reforms. Lawmakers voted 49-0 last week to send the bill to Gov. Jim
Pillen’s desk. Photo courtesy of Nebraska Legislature
Separately,
the judicial branch in January began quarterly reviews of all cases
assigned to guardians who have taken on five or more wards, reporting
any red flags to judges overseeing the cases, Steel said.
Even
with the new reforms, neither Steel nor DeBoer sees Nebraska’s
guardianship system as a finished product, they both said. Nor does Amy
Miller, a staff attorney at the nonprofit advocacy group Disability
Rights Nebraska, which first publicized Stamp’s alleged theft in December and testified in support of DeBoer’s latest bill.
“Down
the road, I think we’re going to need further legislative reform if we
want to close the loopholes that have allowed financial abuse,” Miller
said. She and other advocates hope the state considers less sweeping
alternatives to full guardianships, which accounted for more than 97% of
cases on the Public Guardian’s docket last year despite a state law
that already requires judges to explore less restrictive alternatives.
DeBoer
introduced a resolution calling for a study of Nebraska’s guardianship
system, including whether judges get enough information to know whether
someone should be placed under a full guardianship.
“This is one
of those things where you take little bites at the apple and try to get
it, because you don’t want to overcorrect,” she said.
For Molly
Blazek, an Omaha attorney who founded the firm Nebraska Guardianship
Counsel in 2018, the state may have overcorrected already.
Blazek
said her law firm was initially “born to take over some of that
overflow” from the Office of Public Guardian as its caseload began to
rise. Now, Blazek is the guardian or conservator for 46 vulnerable
Nebraskans, more than double the limit lawmakers put in place this
month.
DeBoer’s bill prohibits guardians from accepting new
appointments if they have 20 or more clients already. It’s unclear if
the law will require Blazek to comply with the new limit retroactively —
and where the wards in her care will end up if it does.
“If the
change in law is going to say I can no longer help the 46 people that
I’m helping,” she said, “my biggest concern is: Who’s going to help
these people next?”
(By Pamela Locke Bimberg, Daughter) – My mother suffered a brain
aneurysm in March 2005, and our family’s life changed forever. For
years after that medical crisis, my father and I stood by her side,
along with my siblings.
Before my mother became incapacitated, she handled all of the
personal and business finances because my father was limited in his
ability to do so. My father then insisted that I step into that role and
do everything my mother had done, including helping manage their
personal finances, her rental properties, and his road-building and
land-clearing business.
I was not a stranger to my mother’s care, and I was not a stranger to
my parents’ finances. My father and I were as close as a daughter and
father could be from the day I was born. I was a true daddy’s girl. I
was his favorite, and he made that known. CONTINUE
GREENVILLE — Darke County Board of Developmental
Disabilities is proud to announce a free, live presentation, “Supported
Decision-Making and Guardianship” led by Attorney Derek Graham, an
experienced advocate in special needs and estate planning law. This
free, important event will take place on Tuesday, April 28 at 6 p.m. in
Birchwood Training Center at 5844 Jaysville-St. Johns Road, Greenville.
This informative session is designed to help individuals and families
navigate the complexities of future planning for loved ones with
developmental disabilities.
Whether they are a parent, caregiver, or professional working with
individuals with disabilities, this presentation will offer valuable
insights and practical tools for ensuring security, independence, and
peace of mind for the future.
Mary-Ann
Langton, foreground, with her aid Patty Ellis, speak to Governor Ned
Lamont staffer Abigail Cotto after members of ADAPT CT enter the
governor’s office wanting to speak to the governor, they were told he
was not in, on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Capitol in Hartford. The
advocates returned twice more before being able to secure a meeting with
Lamont.
Jim Michaud/Hearst Connecticut Media
After months of advocacy, Gov. Ned Lamont is backing off a proposal that would’ve cut funding to a community-based Medicaid program serving more than 7,200 residents.
Community First Choice,
or CFC, is a longstanding entitlement program that allows enrollees to
directly hire personal care aides to support their day-to-day needs
while living in the community or at home.
As
part of his budget proposal, Lamont sought to end funding for the
program, arguing that rising enrollment was also driving up the costs to
sustain it. The program also faces administrative challenges,
particularly payroll-related issues. If it had been finalized, all of
the current participants would have been moved to one of the state’s
capped Medicaid waivers offering similar services.
However,
advocates and community members have instead argued that the waivers
lack sufficient slots and funding to meet the growing demand. As a
result, folks may end up on years-long waiting lists or be pushed into
already-stretched institutional care systems.
Lamont
backed off the CFC proposal following a meeting with several disability
rights advocates in early April. The state’s Appropriation Committee
also rejected the proposal when advancing its budget forward.
Connecticut
Public first reported that none of the original proposal is expected to
be included in the final budget set to be approved in the coming weeks.
Here are other major proposals on disability rights to keep an eye on as the 2026 legislative season winds down:
HUSKY C
Eliminating
the asset limits on the state’s Medicaid plan for people with
disabilities is back on the lawmakers’ docket, marking the third year
advocates have pushed to address what they describe as restrictive and
discriminatory eligibility.
HUSKY
offers coverage based on specific categories, such as income, age,
disability, and more. People with disabilities, however, are only
categorically eligible for HUSKY C, which covers residents who are
disabled, blind and elderly. It has the lowest income limit of any of
the state’s programs — set at $1,370 — and asset limits of $1,600 and
$2,400 for singles and couples.
The latest proposal, if passed, would increase HUSKY C’s asset limits
for an unmarried person to $5,000 and a married couple to $7,500. It
would also require DSS to report asset data to the Human Services
committee, which Sen. Matt Lesser said has been a challenge over the
years and may yield a more accurate fiscal impact.
As of April 14, the proposal was referred to the state Appropriations Committee by the House.
Community
members and advocates have asked lawmakers to increase income and asset
limits, yet have struggled to secure any finalization. In April 2025,
Disability Rights Connecticut and the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic filed a civil rights lawsuit on
behalf of two residents arguing that the strict eligibility
requirements violate the state Constitution's equal protection clause.
But
a lawsuit can take years and would be resolved if the issue were
addressed through legislation, said Sheldon Toubman, a litigation
attorney at Disability Rights Connecticut.
And
with incoming changes to the federal Medicaid program, such as work
requirements, more people may lose their coverage and fall through the
cracks in the insurance system over the next few years.
Some
residents will be directly affected by eligibility changes and funding
cuts and may see coverage changes as early as next year. Others will
drop off Medicaid, despite their eligibility, because they can't keep up
with all the requirements, like Karen Healy.
Healy
began struggling with severe mental health issues, like PTSD, ADHD, and
borderline personality disorder, at 16 years old. In 1989, she entered
institutionalized care and spent more than 24 years receiving treatment
before being discharged in 2014.
She
currently lives on her own in Hartford with 24/7 support and has been
working as a ShopRite bagger for the last 3 years. Healy’s mental health
care and medications are currently covered under MED-Connect, a state program that offers Medicaid coverage to employees with disabilities.
Having
a steady job, Healy said, has helped build her confidence over the
years and has slowly helped her build out her life in the community
after so many years of institutionalized care.
Even
just working 20 hours can be a lot on her body, Healy said, noting it
impacts her sleep, mental health and leads to orthopedic issue
flare-ups. However, starting Jan. 1, 2027, Medicaid enrollees will have
to prove they’ve worked, volunteered or attended school for at least 80 hours a month to keep their coverage.
“I would have to work, but my body would be shot,” Healy said. “It wouldn't be right. It wouldn’t be fair.”
If
she were to quit her job and rely on disability payments, Healy said
her income would be too high, by a few hundred dollars, to qualify for
HUSKY C, which is why she’s advocating for the increased asset limits.
Healy
recalled once trying to meet a roughly $5,000 medical spend-down
requirement when she didn’t have a job to meet HUSKY eligibility. Since
then, she said she believes the amount has likely increased, making it
more difficult to meet the spend-down requirement.
“If
I don't have HUSKY C, all my meds would come out of my own pocket…my
meds are what keep me out of psychiatric hospitals. So, I take them like
if I were a diabetic and depended on my insulin,” Healy said. “I will
always take my meds, no matter what. And if I had to, I would have to
pay for all of them, and I might not have any money for myself.”
Wheelchair repair
Wheelchair repairs are once again on the lawmakers' proposed bill docket.
Two
private equity companies — Numotion and National Seating & Mobility
— provide most of the repair services in Connecticut and nationwide.
In
2024, Lamont signed a multifaceted law aimed at reducing the
months-long wait wheelchair users faced when trying to repair their
chairs. This included a 10-business-day deadline for wheelchair
technicians to fix equipment, eliminating insurance prior authorization
for repairs and creating a Complex Rehabilitation Technology and
Wheelchair Repair Advisory Council to implement the law.
Although
there has been some improvement, Joe Shortt, an advocate with the
Connecticut Wheelchair Repair Coalition, said Numotion “actively
deceives” customers by not informing them that repairs can now be
offered at home, instead forcing people to come into the store for
services.
The proposed legislation would require customer notification about current standards,
available at-home service options and how to file a complaint with the
state if the work is not completed properly. It’d also require
wheelchair dealers to submit monthly reports and provide data to the
Department of Social Services and the state’s Complex Rehabilitation
Technology and Wheelchair Repair Advisory Council.
“Unfortunately,
there are still some repairs taking months, such as Gary, who's been
waiting, who's been stuck in the same uncomfortable position for seven
months because his power wheelchair needs a tilt actuator repair. Or
Mary, who's been waiting months for her foot plate to get repaired,
which resulted in additional injuries to her feet,” Shortt said at a
press conference in March. “We shouldn't have to be subjected to
preventable injuries because of long repair times.”
Although
the proposal made it out of committee and is headed for further debate
in the Senate with bipartisan support, state Rep. Jay Case, who voted
against it, worries that it’s an issue that needs further input from
other committees to fully address.
“I
think we made some good movement on it,” he said in March when the bill
was voted out of the Human Services Committee. “I just think we have to
be careful. We need to make sure that they're getting what they need,
and we're doing what's within our purview.”
Supported decisions
There’s
also a proposal that looks to require businesses, government agencies,
organizations, medical providers, and educational institutions to
recognize a supported decision-making agreement.
Unlike
guardianship, support decision-making is a process that lets
individuals with disabilities maintain legal, self-determined control
with the help of a trusted support system, such as friends or family.
Around
30 states recognize supported decision making, but Connecticut has yet
to catch up, said Molly Cole, executive director of the CT State
Independent Living Council. Cole said the bill would not eliminate
guardianship as an option but would create an opportunity for those who
can make their own decisions to do so.
“If
I needed to buy a car, I would be asking somebody to tell me about a
car. That's supported decision making,” she said at a press conference
in March. “All of us do it every day, and yet we deny that right to so
many people with disabilities.”
The
proposed bill was developed in collaboration with disability advocates
and bipartisan lawmakers over the course of 10 months, but it’s been an
issue that they’ve been working to address since 2023, said state Rep.
Lucy Dathan. She explained that minors turning 18 years old and
transitioning out of pediatric support systems would especially benefit
from having a new avenue for decision-making.
In
addition, the proposal seeks to establish a program through the
Department of Aging and Disability Services to provide information and
resources on supported decision-making agreements and to facilitate
their creation, execution, and termination.
As
of April 14, the proposal has cleared the Human Services Committee and
is headed to the House for further debate, with bipartisan support.
