Timothy Sumer

New York State considers end to 'spousal refusal' to pay for nursing home care New York is considering ending a practice that allows one spouse to legally refuse to pay for nursing home care for the other — while passing the bill to Medicaid. While some see the practice as a scheme benefiting the wealthy, a growing number of advocates for middle-class elderly New Yorkers strongly support it as an essential option to keep a “well” spouse out of poverty when health care costs are exploding. The last five governors targeted the maneuver, known as "spousal refusal," for repeal 28 times. New York and Florida are the only states that allow the practice. But this year, the state Medicaid Redesign Team is considering whether to scrap the decades-old practice, said state budget spokesman Freeman Klopett. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo appointed the group of health care leaders to cut $2.5 billion from Medicaid, a federal and state health care system. The team's recom...