Veterans Homes in Pennsylvania are Seizing Patients’ Savings after Death
What’s More, Some Relatives Must Go to Court to Fight the State for Money to Bury their Kin…
When Rosella Stitzell checked into the state-run Southwestern Veterans Center in 2002, the World War II veteran was told 80 percent of her monthly pension would pay for her stay. Twenty percent would go into a personal savings account maintained by the home in Lincoln-Lemington.
Over the next seven years, the savings account grew, eventually topping $20,000.
But when Stitzell, 97, checked out late last year, she and her three children got a surprise. Not only did the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs refuse to let her have the $20,000, the family learned she owed more than $200,000 for her stay.
The Stitzells had run headlong into a little-known knot of state bureaucracy, a knot that grabbed up the savings of dozens of deceased veterans, including homes and a coin collection.
What’s more, some relatives must go to court to fight the state for money to bury their kin.
A review of court records across the state and interviews with family members show many were unaware they would be billed for thousands of dollars after their loved ones died.
State officials say the practices are fair and legal.
Attorneys say the policies appear contradictory. Some question whether veterans and their loved ones realize when they sign key documents what it will mean.
“I can’t believe that people believe they are signing away their rights to access their own funds. It does seem pernicious,” said Kyle Fisher of the Pennsylvania Health Law Project.
Full article: Veterans Homes in Pennsylvania are Seizing Patients’ Savings after Death
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Tags: Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Pennsylvania, Pension, Rosella Stitzell, Southwestern Veterans Center, Veterans, World War II Veteran
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