Elder Law Prof Blog

Disaster Recovery Resources

The National Consumer Law Center sent out an email listing resources for attorneys and others helping elders recover from natural disasters. The email described the situation:

Older adults living in communities hit by natural disasters disproportionately suffer emotional trauma and financial hardship after the event. Age-related changes, including decreases in mobility and cognitive abilities make it harder for older adults to navigate the recovery process and access resources to repair or rebuild their homes. Once the immediate danger has passed, older adults will need assistance from insurance, government, and nonprofit organizations or other aid agencies to rebuild their home and community support system. In the days and weeks after the disaster older adults are forced to deal with a wide variety of issues, including home repair, reconnecting utilities, and making payments, including mortgage, credit cards, and student loans. Unlike many others affected by disasters, older adults may have fewer private assets to aid in recovery making the process to rebuild financially more difficult. Here are some resources the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has compiled to help guide advocates in advising older adults.

The Disaster Relief & Consumer Protection Project  offers information and resources in several categories. For individuals who are older, the resources address the following:

• Issue Brief: Assisting Homeowners with Reverse Mortgages after a Natural Disaster: A Guide for Advocates, October 2018

• Webinar: Assisting Older Homeowners after a Natural Disaster (National Center on Law and Elder Rights), June 20, 2018:

  • Free Webcast: Assisting Older Homeowners After a Natural Disaster, June 2018

  • Issue Brief: Helping Older Homeowners Recover from Natural Disasters, June 2018

  • Presentation

Elder Justice Coordinating Council-Save the Date

The next meeting for the Elder Justice Coordinating Council is December 6, 2018. The EJCC was created as part of the Elder Justice Act and is intended 

to coordinate activities related to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation across the federal government. The Elder Justice Coordinating Council is directed by the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary serves as the Chair of the Council. The HHS Secretary has assigned responsibility for implementing the Coordinating Council to the Administration on Aging (AoA) within ACL. AoA has long been engaged in efforts to protect older individuals from elder abuse including financial exploitation, physical abuse, neglect, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse. Through the Older Americans Act, AoA endeavors preserve the rights of older people and protect those who may not be able to protect themselves.

The final 2018 meeting is set for December 6, 2018 from 9:30-noon. You can register here to attend.  It will also be live streamed.

Filial Friday: "Elternunterhalt" -- An Update on Germany's Approach to Filial Support Law

My first close look at filial support law in Germany arose in 2015, when I met a German-born, naturalized U.S. citizen living in Pennsylvania who had received a series of demand letters from Germany authorities asking her to submit detailed financial information for the authorities to analyze in order to determine how much she would be compelled to pay towards care for her biological father in German.  Her father had become seriously ill and did not have inadequate financial resources of his own.  As I've come to learn, the name for Germany's applicable legal theory is elternunterhalt, which translates into English as "parental maintenance."   

Since 2015, I've heard from other adult children living in the U.S.,  but also in Canada and England, about additional cross-border claims originating in Germany.  They write in hopes of getting objective information and to share their own stories, which I appreciate. In some instances, such as the first case I saw in Pennsylvania, a statutory defense becomes relevant because of past "serious misconduct" on the part of  the indigent parent towards the child.  The misconduct has to be more than mere alienation or gaps in communication. Sometimes misconduct such as abuse or neglect is the very reason the child left Germany, searching for a safer place.  

Most of the adult children who reach out to me report they had never heard of elternunterhalt.  Their years of estrangement are often not just from the parent but from the country of their birth.  Even those who still have a relationship with the parent in Germany often learn of the potential support obligation only after their parent is admitted to a nursing home or other form of care.  They face unexpected demands for foreign payments, while they are often still looking to fund college for children or their own retirement needs.  

National German authorities began to mandate enforcement of elternunterhalt in 2010 in response to increasing public welfare costs for their "boomer" generation of aging citizens.  Enforcement seems to have been phased in slowly among the 16 states in the country.  I've read news stories from Germany about confusion and anger in entirely domestic cases.

A claim typically begins with letters from a social welfare agency in the area where the needy parent is living.  The first letters usually do not state the amount of any requested maintenance payment, but enclose forms that seek detailed, documented information about the "obligated child's" income and certain personal expenses or obligations (such as care for minor children). The authorities also seeks information about any marital property and for income for any spouse of "life partner." 

Whether or not the information is supplied, at some point in a wholly domestic German case the social welfare office may initiate a request for a specific amount of  back pay as well as current "maintenance." Such a request cannot be enforced unless the child either agrees to pay or a court of law decrees that payment must be made.  The latter requires a formal suit to be initiated by the agency and litigated in the family divisions of the German courts.  The amount of any compelled payment is determined by a host of factors, including the amount of the parent's pension, savings, and any long-term care insurance, and the child's own financial circumstances.

Cross border cases have been pursued within the EU with some reported results.  As for parental maintenance claims presented to U.S. children, enforceability is less clear.  According to some of the letters sent by German authorities, Germany takes the position that a German court ruling in a cross border elternunterhalt claim can be enforced in the United States under "international law."  The letters do not explain what legal authorities are the basis for such enforcement. 

The Hague Convention on International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance was approved by the European Union, thereby affecting Germany, in 2014.  The treaty is mostly directed to the mechanics of international child support claims and is built on past international agreements on child support; however the treaty also provides that the Convention shall apply to any contracting state that has declared that it will extend the application "in whole or in part" to "any maintenance obligation arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity, including in particular obligations in respect of vulnerable persons."  See Article 2(3). 

Continue reading

Change in Process to Appoint Administrative Judges

The Washington Post recently ran an article about changes to the system of selecting Veterans law judges (or ALJs) within the Board of Veterans Appeals and whether that is affecting their impartiality.  The story, I’ve never seen these positions politicized’: White House rejection of veterans judges raises concerns of partisanship is primarily about the rejection of candidates for positions within the Board of Veterans Appeals. This excerpt from the article gives you the background

The Board of Veterans’ Appeals has long filled a nonpartisan role in the federal government, run by dozens of judges charged with sorting through a thicket of regulations to determine whether an injured veteran is entitled to lifetime benefits.

But this summer, the White House rejected half of the candidates selected by the board chairwoman to serve as administrative judges, who make rulings on the disability claims. The rejections came after the White House required them to disclose their party affiliation and other details of their political leanings, according to documents viewed by The Washington Post.

Such questions had not been asked of judge candidates in the past, according to former judges and board staff.

As part of the process, the candidates were asked to provide links to their social media profiles and disclose whether they had ever given a speech to Congress, spoken at a political convention, appeared on talk radio, or published an opinion piece in a conservative forum such as Breitbart News or a liberal one such as Mother Jones, according to one candidate, who requested anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak to the media.

The rejected applicants are three Democrats and an independent. Of the four accepted by the White House and sworn in last week, three are Republicans, and one has no party affiliation but has voted in GOP primaries, according to documents and interviews.

The article quotes an administration official who explained that this is designed to get the best people for the job. But remember another change that happened this summer, about which we previously blogged. "The new approach at VA comes as the White House for the first time turned another class of administrative judges from civil servants into political appointees, reflecting an emerging conservative legal movement to involve the president in naming government adjudicators... Citing a Supreme Court decision, the Trump administration announced in July that administrative law judges, most of whom rule on disability claims for the Social Security Administration, would now be appointed by the president." The rest of the article examines the caseload of veterans appeals and the need for judges for the appeals system.

FTC Releases New Report on Older Consumers

The Federal Trade Commission has released a new report, Protecting Older Consumers: 2017-2018: A Report to Congress of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC report, available here, runs 41 pages and is divided into sections addressing effective strategies, enforcement activities, and outreach and education.  For those of you unfamiliar with the FTC's work on behalf of consumers who are older, the report explains

As the nation’s primary consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has a broad mandate to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices in the marketplace. It does this by, among other things, filing law enforcement actions to stop unlawful practices and educating the public about consumer protection issues. Through strategic initiatives, research, and collaboration with federal, state, international, and private sector partners, the FTC targets its efforts to achieve the maximum benefits for consumers, including older adults.

The Commission’s anti-fraud program tracks down and stops some of the most pernicious frauds that prey on U.S. consumers, such as imposter scams, deceptive credit schemes, prize promotion fraud, business opportunity scams, and more. In addition, the advertising substantiation program protects consumers from the harm caused by unsubstantiated product claims, such as fake opioid addiction treatments and cancer cure products. The agency also works to protect consumer privacy and data security, combat illegal telemarketing and email spam, and enforce a variety of consumer protection rules and other statutes covering topics such as funeral industry practices, used car sales, and consumer
product warranty protections, to name only a few. These programs provide tremendous benefits to older and younger consumers. (citations omitted).

Be sure to check out Appendix A-the table of cases from the FTC for year 2018.

SSA Numbers for 2019

Social Security has released the 2019 numbers.   Social Security Announces 2.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2019 notes a 2.8% COLA and an increase in the SSA taxable maximum amount to $132,900. The indivdiual's amount for SSI for 2019 will increase to $771 per month. The detailed fact sheet is available here.

Demand for Nursing Homes Dwindling?

The New York Times ran an article on the demand for nursing home beds.  In the Nursing Home, Empty Beds and Quiet Halls opens by explaining that a once vibrant facility now stands closed due to a drop in demand.  According to the article, "[t]he most recent quarterly survey from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care reported that nearly one nursing home bed in five now goes unused. ... Occupancy has reached 81.7 percent, the lowest level since the research organization began tracking this data in 2011, when it was nearly 87 percent."  The occupancy rate has been trending downward; concomitantly facilities close, and according to the article, somewhere between 200-300 annually close.  The article points out what you are likely thinking-with the number of baby boomers wouldn't the demand be increasing rather than decreasing?

The article hypothesizes as to why this may be occurring and suggests:

• Increased regulations and more financial belt-tightening

• Hospitals' use of observation status,which thus affects Medicare coverage for subsequent SNF care.

•  

  More surgeries on an out-patient basis

•  

  Increasing number of Medicare Advantage plans.

• Increased competition through other housing options

   

• The shift to Medicaid covering care in the community, with "Money Follows the Person [having] moved more than 75,000 residents out of nursing homes and back into community settings."

The article speculates whether this trend will reverse itself once the boomers start reaching 80 and beyond. The article also discusses whether the lower demand provides more options for those in need of nursing home care.

Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summit

Registration is now open for the Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summit scheduled for November 14-15, 2018 in Des Moines, Iowa. Here is info about the program

On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2018, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Agriculture announced a joint Statement of Action to promote elder justice in rural and tribal communities. Although more than 20 percent of older adults live in rural America, rural and tribal communities face unique challenges in their efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.

To advance this priority, the Department of Justice is hosting a Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summit on November 14–15, in Des Moines, Iowa. This Summit will bring together a diverse group of experts and elder justice professionals to: (1) identify the challenges rural and tribal communities face in responding to elder abuse; (2) identify promising practices, resources, and tools available to rural and tribal communities; and (3) explore what more can be done to break down silos and foster greater collaboration at the tribal, local, state, and federal levels.

Please join us for this important event and help us to advance elder justice in rural and tribal communities.

For more information about the summit and rural elder justice topics, please visit the Elder Justice Initiative website

 

To register for the summit, click here.

California Vets Sue for Right to Aid in Dying

Bloomberg Law News ran a recent story about litigation in California. California Veterans Sue for Right to Die in State Home reports on a suit recently filed concerned vets living in a state veterans home.

Terminally ill California veterans wishing to use the state’s assisted dying law must be evicted or leave the state veterans’ home, a lawsuit challenging a regulation prohibiting the use said.

California is among a handful of states that permit assisted suicide. The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) argues the regulation banning assisted suicide was necessary to avoid violating the 1997 federal Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act, the lawsuit said. Veterans contend the agency’s argument is unsupported by law or fact and, in fact, harms terminally ill residents.

The suit was filed the first week of October in trial court in Alameda County.  The plaintiffs include 2 veterans groups,  a vet from Vietnam, and a non-veteran spouse. Defendants include the California Department of Veterans Affairs and the California Veterans Board.

Medicare Advantage Plans Shifting Financial Risk to Drs?

According to a recent Kaiser Health News article,  Medicare Advantage Plans Shift Their Financial Risk To Doctors,   Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans pay medical groups "a fixed monthly payment ... to cover virtually all of their members’ health needs, including drugs and physician, hospital, mental health and rehabilitation services."

This model — known as “full-risk” or “global risk” — is increasingly used by Medicare plans such as Humana and UnitedHealthcare to shift their financial exposure from costly patients to WellMed and other physician-management companies. It gives the doctors’ groups more money upfront and control over patient care. ... As a result, they go to extraordinary lengths to keep their members healthy and avoid expensive hospital stays.

As the article notes, there is a financial incentive for the health care providers with this model, and experts disagree whether it results in better care or less care for patients. As the article notes, beneficiaries choose an MA plan and pick doctors within the plan, often without knowing if the MA plan has delegated oversight of the beneficiaries' health to these physician groups.  And the impact of this full-risk approach should not be understated:

Nearly one-third of the 57 million Medicare beneficiaries are covered by private Medicare Advantage plans — an alternative to government-run Medicare — and federal officials have estimated that the proportion will rise to 41 percent over the next decade. The government pays these plans to provide medical services to their members.

The “global risk” system has been used in South Florida and Southern California since the late 1990s and nearly half of Medicare Advantage members in those regions get care in the model. The use has spread further in the past two years as large physician companies have become more common, and about 10 percent of Medicare Advantage plan members across the nation are in them now, health consultants say.

... 

Under the “global risk” arrangements, the health plans give the physician companies the bulk of their Medicare funding when they take on the mantle of being financially responsible for all patient care.

 Keep an eye on this -- it's important.

Update on 2018 Elder Abuse Legislation

The USC Center for Elder Mistreatment has released an update on federal and state elder abuse legislation passed in 2018.  According to the website, "[t]he elder justice legislation found in this document was elicited and finalized from the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) Listserv and independent websites in August 2018. The compilation is intended to reflect highlights across the nation and does not include all legislation related to elder justice. However, updates will be sent quarterly and states are encouraged to send updates on significant legislative action to Ageless Alliance. This document reflects activity in 21 states and highlights at the federal level. "  The elder justice policy highlights cover February through August of 2018 and can be accessed here. The document features federal legislation and well as state legislation listed alphabetically.

Medicare Advantage Costs Dropping

Last week, CMS released an updated fact sheet on the outlook for Medicare Advantage plans for 2019.  2019 Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug Program Landscape   provided some udpates:

offered in 2019:

• Enrollment in Medicare Advantage is projected to be at an all-time high in 2019 with 22.6 million Medicare beneficiaries. This represents a projected 2.4 million (11.5 percent) increase from 20.2 million in 2018. Based on projected enrollment, 36.7% of Medicare beneficiaries will be enrolled in Medicare Advantage in 2019.
   
• Medicare Advantage premiums, on average, have steadily declined since 2015 from the actual average premium of $32.91. For 2019, CMS estimates the Medicare Advantage average monthly premium will decline by $1.81 to $28.00 from 2018.
   
• Approximately 83 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees will have the same or lower premium in 2019 if they continue in the same plan. About 26 percent of enrollees staying in current plans will see their premiums decline in 2019. Approximately 46 percent of enrollees in their current plan will have a zero premium in 2019.
   
• Access to Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans will remain nearly universal, with about 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries having access to at least one health plan in their area. All Medicare beneficiaries will have access to at least one stand-alone prescription drug plan. 
   
• ... 
• Due to new flexibilities available for the first time in 2019, nearly 270 Medicare Advantage plans will be providing an estimated 1.5 million enrollees new types of supplemental benefits:
  • Expanded health-related supplemental benefits, such as adult day care services, and in-home and caregiver support services; and
  • Reduced cost sharing and additional benefits for enrollees with certain conditions, such diabetes and congestive heart failure due to the agency’s reinterpretation of uniformity requirements. 
     
• Access to important supplemental benefits, such as dental, vision, and hearing continues to grow. 

Read the entire fact sheet here.

 

Financial Caregivers Now Can Request Security Freezes

The FTC has announced that effective September 21, 2018, financial caregivers can now request security freezes for those for whom they manage money.  Managing someone else’s money: New protection from ID theft and fraud explains that "[a] security freeze restricts access to your credit reports and makes it hard for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. Under the new law, it’s free to freeze and unfreeze your credit file at all three of the nationwide consumer reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion." The law extends the ability to those who have "certain legal authority [to] act on someone else’s behalf to freeze and unfreeze their credit file. The new law defines a “protected consumer” as an incapacitated person, someone with an appointed guardian or conservator, or a child under the age of 16." The article explains that the law does require proof of legal authority, which the article notes includes a DPOA or guardianship order. This is a great idea! Make sure you tell your clients about this.

McKnight's Senior Living Commentary Addresses Abuse of "Part-Time" Shift Workers

As anyone who has a loved on in a care setting can probably attest, the individuals who work there have tough jobs. 

I was interested to read a McKnight's Senior Living commentary that focuses on a problem that may not be easy for the public to identify, the intentional use of "part-time" help to avoid an obligation to pay benefits for full time workers. 

The author describes one woman who works 30 hours per week for each of  two different employers -- that is 60 hours per week of hard work without benefits such as employer-sponsored health insurance.  John O'Connor writes in an important column (with a title that could perhaps, unfortunately, be misunderstood because of the reference to a Hispanic name), Senior Living Has Way Too Many Marias:

We often hear about the labor challenge in senior living. To be sure, it's very real. There is a lot of competition, and conditions are especially difficult these days. It's not easy to find and keep people willing to work for the wages that are available.

 

But if we are going to be honest, at least part of the problem has little to do with unforgiving external conditions and more to do with conditions some operators have decided to put in place.

 

To get more to the point, many communities simply refuse to hire full-time workers. From an economics standpoint, that is understandable. But it doesn't do much for the Marias of the world. And there are a lot more of them out there than many operators would like to admit.

 

Stetson's 20th Annual SNT Planning Conference

Registration is open for Stetson Law's 20th annual Special Needs Planning Conference.  The agenda is here . There are three pre-conferences on October 17: a full day program on Tax, a full day program on Pooled SNTs, and a half-day program on Veterans benefits. The National Conference is two days long and runs October 18-19, 2018.  Registration info is available here. Can't attend in person? The National Conference is being webcast. Early bird registration ends September 21, 2018 so don't delay!

Disclaimer: I'm the conference chair. Hope to see you there!

Attracting Adequate, Qualified Staff: The Impact of Payment Issues in Long-Term Care

I've been reading articles for several weeks about a "troubled" nursing home in Connecticut where staff members were reportedly being paid late, and not receiving payments on related benefit claims (including health care and pensions).   

The reports sound unusually mysterious, with indications of an executive's "loan" to a related charity from operating reserves.   Suddenly more than $4 million was apparently restored to a key pension account:  

As News 12 has reported, federal agents raided the center back in May. When the raid happened, that account was down to $800. For years, workers have complained about missing retirement money. In a lawsuit, the Labor Department claims the facility's owner illegally funneled their money into his own private charity.

 

Now, according to new court documents, the $4 million was unexpectedly deposited into the pension account last week. It's unclear where the money came from, and even the bankruptcy trustee running the facility was unsure.

 

"I don't truly know the source, but I do know that there's $4.1 million in this bank," bankruptcy trustee Jon Newton said at a court hearing yesterday.

 

But in a recent court hearing, owner Chaim Stern's lawyer said the money "was meant to represent the $3.6 million transferred from the (retirement) plan to Em Kol Chai." That's the charity authorities say Stern controls.

 

Workers may not get as much of that money as they think. Bridgeport Health Care has a long list of creditors, and they could potentially get a share.

 

News 12 reported back in July that part of the facility, called Bridgeport Manor, is shutting down. Lawyers say they hope to wrap that process up within a month.

For more read:  Millions Mysteriously Appear in Account of Troubled Nursing Home.

How Retirement of Baby Boomer Business Owners Will Affect Employees

The Washington Post recently published an interesting article considering the implications of retirement of business owners on employees. What a ‘silver tsunami’ of retiring Baby Boomer business owners could mean for their workers  focuses on the implication of "the wave of retiring Boomers who own closely held private businesses. They will need to sell their companies, transition them to a new generation of owners -- or risk shutting them down, cutting jobs in the process."

The article looks at "a little noticed measure in the recently signed defense spending bill aims to address the widening wealth divide between workers and the owners or top executives who manage them. The measure, co-sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), is intended to expand financing options and raise awareness for programs that can help employees become partial owners of the companies where they work" which "make[s] it possible for firms to use Small Business Administration loans to finance what’s known as employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, an arrangement that can help transfer ownership of the company to employees rather than have to find a suitable buyer or rely on family members who may be ill-suited or unprepared to keep the lights on."

According to one expert, this change is a big deal, although the "immediate impact is probably limited to small companies: The SBA loans that can be used are capped at $5 million, though they can be combined with other financing." 

Stay tuned!

Rep Payee Reviews

Recently I was reading the SSA website on Rep Payees and learned that certain rep payees have an accounting/auditing requirement.  Representative Payee Site Reviews Conducted By Protection And Advocacy System explains 

On April 13, the President signed the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018. The law directs state Protection & Advocacy (P&A) system organizations to conduct all periodic onsite reviews along with additional discretionary reviews. In addition, the P&As will conduct educational visits and conduct reviews based on allegations they receive of payee misconduct.

The P&A conducts a review, which includes:

• an interview with the individual or organizational representative payee;
• a review of the representative payee’s financial records for the requested beneficiary or sample of beneficiaries served;
• a home visit and interview for each beneficiary included in the review; and
• an interview with legal guardians and third parties, when applicable.

Financial Records Representative Payees Should Have Available for Review

When the P&A schedules the review, the reviewer will request the records needed for each beneficiary. Some common financial documents that representative payees may be asked to provide are:

• a beneficiary budget;

• a beneficiary ledger;

• individual bank statements;

• Collective account bank statements;

• receipts of income;

• account balances;

• bank reconciliation records;

• cancelled checks;

• expense documentation including receipts, bills, and rental agreements;

• how the payee keeps conserved benefits (e.g., checking, savings, etc.); and

• any other financial documents that pertain to a beneficiary’s Social Security and/or SSI benefits.

As part of the review the P&A also visits the beneficiary as well as any guardian or any "third parties." Anyone have any experience with these "audits"?

Reforming Social Security - Child Caregiver Credits?

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released an issue brief, #18-15, Modernizing Social Security: Caregiver Credits.  The brief opens with the statement of the problem

Women still tend to work fewer years and earn less than men, which leads to less income in retirement. One reason is that women are often still the main family caregiver. Traditionally, Social Security has recognized this role by providing spousal and widow benefits for married women. Today, however, many women are not eligible for these benefits because they never married or they divorced prior to the 10-year threshold needed to qualify. Even those who are married are less likely to receive a spousal benefit, as their worker benefit is larger. Thus, many mothers receive little to no support to offset lost earnings due to childrearing.

The 10 page brief looks at how the topic is handled in other countries and discusses two avenues for resolution in the U.S.: (1) "[i]ncrease the number of work years that are excluded from benefit calculations ... [and] (2) [p]rovide earnings credits to parents with a child under age six for up to five years." The article concludes in part

It is easy to understand the appeal of crediting Social Security records to reflect lost earnings due to caring for a child. In the past, this activity was usually compensated for by the spousal benefit, but changes in women’s work and marriage patterns have left fewer eligible for it. A credit is also more appealing than a spousal benefit if the goal is to compensate for the
costs of childrearing, independent of marital status.

NYT: Same Sex Couple Challenge CCRC Admissions Policy as Discriminatory

From wedding cakes to retirement communities.  The dissonance here starts from the first mention of the name of the community, "Friendship Village."  From the New York Times's Paula Span, comes news of a challenge to an admissions policy as applied to an older, same sex couple seeking to move into a "faith-based" nonprofit Continuing Care Retirement Community or CCRC (also known as Life Plan Communities) near St. Louis:  

The community seemed eager to recruit them, too, offering a lower entrance fee if they signed an agreement promptly. So they paid a $2,000 deposit on a two-bedroom unit costing $235,000. They notified their homeowners association that they’d be putting their house in Shrewsbury, Mo., on the market and canceled a vacation because they’d be moving in 90 days. Ms. Walsh contacted a realtor and began packing.

 

Then came a call from the residence director, asking Ms. Walsh the nature of her relationship with Ms. Nance, 68, a retired professor.

 

Natives of the area, they’d been partners for nearly 40 years. Before the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages across the country, they’d had a harborside wedding in Provincetown, Mass.  “I said, ‘We’ve been married since 2009,’” Ms. Walsh replied. “She said, ‘I’m going to need to call you back.’”

 

Last month, the women brought suit in federal court, alleging sex discrimination in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and the Missouri Human Rights Act.

For the full article, read "A Retirement Community Turned Away These Married Women."