Maine seniors and the state’s cash-strapped MaineCare program could both win under new legislation up for debate Wednesday in the Legislature, according to the bill’s supporters.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, involves an often overlooked way for seniors to pay for long-term care. The bill aims to help some older consumers who, faced with the prospect of paying for expensive assisted-living and nursing facilities, surrender their life insurance policies in order to qualify for MaineCare, Maine’s version of Medicaid.

To qualify for MaineCare, applicants must deplete their financial resources. Life insurance policies can prevent some seniors from qualifying for the health insurance program for the poor because the policies are considered assets.

Craven believes her bill, LD 1092, could help many seniors delay or avoid signing up for MaineCare by informing them about other ways to pay for long-term care themselves. The bill, which is scheduled for a public hearing Wednesday, would create a program at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees MaineCare, to help consumers learn about and sort through such alternatives…

Read the rest of the story here from the Bangor Daily News.