HARRISBURG — Officials will simplify a policy for residents of the state’s six veterans homes who want to withdraw money from spending accounts and issue regulations governing how the state collects money from the estates of dead patients, a Department of Military and Veteran Affairs leader told a Senate committee Wednesday.

Members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee cited complaints and asked for detailed data on spending accounts and the estate recovery program, which collects about $3 million a year.

Representatives of veterans groups attended the hearing but did not testify, including American Legion members who say officials have not answered their concerns about the estate recovery program and the limits placed on spending from accounts.

“This isn’t the end; this is the beginning,” said Kit D. Watson, department adjutant of the Pennsylvania American Legion.

The committee called the hearing in response to Tribune-Review articles on the issues. The six veterans homes, with around 1,500 patients, are located across the state. One is in Pittsburgh.

Brig. Gen. Michael Gould, head of nursing homes for the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, and two other agency officials defended the estate program and the handling of spending accounts, even as they promised change.

“We plan to clarify and simplify it and make sure it is better understood,” Gould said.

Patients and their family members are told up front that they are responsible for the full cost of care, even though they pay a reduced monthly fee based on income, Gould said. The department seeks to recover the difference from estates when patients die.

Gould said in his six months running the nursing home program he has not heard a single complaint from veterans or families about the accounts.

But the committee chairwoman, Sen. Lisa Baker, and Republican Sen. Kim Ward of Hempfield, said they received numerous complaints.

“We will be proposing a complete overhaul,” said Baker, R-Luzerne, citing “an obvious disconnect” between stated policy and the perception that veterans and their families hold. “Some people believe it’s unfair. There’s a sense that (the policy) depends on who the person is.”

Ward and minority chairman Lawrence Farnese, D-Philadelphia, noted that veterans and family members were not on the list of speakers.

“I want to hear them firsthand,” Farnese said, suggesting the committee hold additional hearings.

Ward questioned Gould about the legal basis for limits on using veterans’ spending accounts. Gould said no statute exists, but the policy is intended to ensure that money in the accounts benefits patients.

Gould said the department filed about 3,100 estate claims during the past five years. In 111 cases, he said, department officials acted as administrators of estates. In most cases, family members voiced no objections, he said.

Baker suggested involving patient advocates in the admissions process and advisory board members at each of the homes, to help keep families informed.

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