“When NAELA asked me if I would be interested in writing a story for NAELA News, I said yes and agreed to write about the Texas NAELA Chapter. I soon realized that it would be a lot more interesting if I asked for a little (a lot) of help from my friends. So, I asked Marilyn G. Miller, H. Clyde Farrell, Patricia Flora Sitchler, and my law partner Molly Dear Abshire to help. They graciously agreed. Renée Lovelace edited for us. The topics were determined and the segments follow.” —Wesley E. Wright
Early History of the Texas Chapter of NAELA
By H. Clyde Farrell, CELA
In July 1995, several Texas attorneys who were members of NAELA decided to form a Texas NAELA Chapter. They had discovered that Medicaid law and policy was state-specific, and they believed it to be important to organize on a state level. After forming a Texas non-profit corporation, an organizational meeting was held in September 1995. Initial officers were Leonard Weiner (President), Clyde Farrell (Vice-President), Julia Merkt (Treasurer), and Pi-Yi Mayo (Secretary). Additional Board members were Renée Lovelace, Thomasina Thomas, O. Henry (“Mike”) Young, and Marilyn Miller. The same individuals served in various capacities as officers and directors during the first three years, with the addition of Jeff Skarda and Gaye Thompson.
In January 1996, the chapter published its first newsletter, Texas Elder Law Alert, which announced: “Clifton Kruse, President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, presented Texas Chapter members their Chapter Charter on November 10 [1995] at the NAELA Institute in Denver.” At that time, the chapter had 60 members; by August 1997, the chapter had 87 members.
Marilyn Miller served as coordinator of all the statewide conferences during the first three years and for many years thereafter. Clyde Farrell edited the Chapter newsletter, Texas Elder Law Alert, from the first issue through the 32nd issue in August 2011.
The first two Texas Chapter annual meetings were at the Texas Law Center in Austin. The third and fourth were at the Red Lion Inn in Austin. At the February 1997 annual meeting, Christina Pierce (now Lesher), then a social worker/paralegal with the Law Office of H. Clyde Farrell, served as staff for the meeting, together with Laurie Longman from that office. The same pattern continued for several years, with Clyde and Marilyn, along with members of their offices, planning and staffing the annual meetings.
At the September 1998 Annual Meeting, Elmo Johnson (attorney for the Medicaid program) and John Stockton (senior policy specialist for the program) spoke on “Recent Developments in Medicaid Rules and Procedures.” Thus began a long history of professional engagement between attorneys in the chapter and attorneys for the Medicaid program. A likely result is that Texas Medicaid has in most respects followed the requirements of the federal Medicaid statute and policies of the federal Medicaid agency, with very little need for litigation.
Participation in Suggested Changes to the Law
By Patricia Flora Sitchler, CELA
In 2003, the Texas Legislature passed Medicaid Estate Recovery. Over the next two years, Texas Health & Human Services (HHS subsequently HHSC) drafted regulations to implement the law. In June 2003, Texas NAELA called an emergency meeting to create a strategy to try to influence the regulation of the new Medicaid Estate Recovery Program. Texas NAELA, through its officers, drafted proposed regulations and submitted drafts to HHS with the hope that the scholarly work would help guide HHS in drafting the regulations. As a result of Texas NAELA participation, Medicaid Estate Recovery rules were refined to address public concerns.
Texas NAELA members advocated for change when, in 2006, HHS laid off about 40 percent of its workforce and outsourced the Medicaid nursing home application process to a private entity. Texas NAELA members experienced an increase in lost applications, erroneous denials, and extended periods of inaction on cases filed with the private entity. The HHS Commissioner scheduled public hearings to take comments from stakeholders. Texas NAELA members testified at local hearings. One witness was a legal assistant who had retired from HHS to work with a Texas NAELA member. Her testimony was so compelling that the press picked it up along with other testimony, convincing legislators to investigate the private entity’s performance. The legislature worked with HHS to terminate the private entity’s contract and re-establish the state’s role in the Medicaid nursing home application process.
Now, through Texas NAELA’s Legislative Committee, updates on pending legislation are circulated along with hearing dates and the names and contact information for House and Senate council members. Texas NAELA does not lobby the legislature but supports members who reach out to the legislature. Support includes brainstorming, bullet points, connections with legislators, and personal testimony at hearings — always working to avoid partisan issues.
Community Involvement
By Marilyn Miller, CELA
One objective of Texas NAELA is to educate the public on issues that are important to seniors, persons with disabilities, and to the families of these individuals. One of the first organizational outreach projects happened in 1996 when Texas NAELA co-sponsored a Validation Therapy workshop with the Gray Panthers of Austin. Since that time the organization has supported its members in their individual outreach efforts. This outreach takes many forms, for instance:
• speaking to the public at Senior Centers, “Lifetime Learning” classes, and other sponsored gatherings,
• writing columns for the local newspapers,
• publishing books and treatises to educate lawyers and the public,
• appearing on local television programs, and
• teaching courses at colleges and universities.
These activities have increased Texas NAELA’s standing as an authoritative source of information and practical help for seniors and persons with disabilities in our local communities.
Successful Board Retreats
By Molly Dear Abshire, CELA
Texas NAELA boards regularly analyze their actions to determine if they are on the best path for achieving the goals of our organization. Regular board meetings are often so tightly scheduled that they leave no time for reflection and planning.
Meanwhile, board retreats provide the venue for the reflection and planning necessary to advance our goals. It is essential for the board to “retreat” in a more informal setting to develop the trust and openness necessary to candidly discuss both current critical issues and strategize for future plans of action.
Common topics addressed during Texas NAELA board retreats include:
• Strategic planning: Board members plan for future improved programming, develop and assess short-term and long-term goals for the organization, fine-tune the mission and vision for Texas NAELA, and discuss critical or controversial issues such as leadership transitions, practice trends, and threats to the organization.
• Board development: Board members define the roles and responsibilities for each board member, work on team building, develop leadership within the board, and recharge the focus of the organization.
Retreats should be scheduled at least biannually, separate from regularly scheduled board meetings. Typically, the Texas NAELA board retreats have lasted one to two days during which board members build camaraderie while freely discussing the issues that most concern them.
To optimize the use of the board members’ collective time, board retreats require planning in advance. Locations have ranged from board members’ law offices to airport hotels to country retreats. Successful retreats generally end with reinvigorated boards. The best by-product of a board retreat is the clear vision that comes with each board member understanding his or her responsibilities and what that board member needs to accomplish to effectuate the goals of Texas NAELA.
Our Recent History
By Wesley E. Wright, CELA
Several years ago, the Texas NAELA Board and the CLE Department of the University of Texas Law School formed a partnership bringing two conferences together.
Texas NAELA had been hosting a Texas NAELA Conference in conjunction with its annual meeting. The University of Texas had been producing the Annual Estate Planning, Guardianship and Elder Law Conference. The two organizations discussed merging the two conferences into a jointly sponsored conference. The groups felt that each brought mutually beneficial attributes to the table. We have been jointly sponsoring the two conferences now for three years. The University of Texas handles seminar production, alleviating the work burden on Texas NAELA officers and board members. Total attendance for both conferences has enjoyed an increase and Texas NAELA membership has also increased almost 40 percent — from 179 members in 2015 to 248 members as of October 2018.
Another step Texas NAELA took four years ago involved employing national NAELA to take over most of our back-office tasks.
This move, together with the move to join forces with the University of Texas, has allowed chapter leadership to successfully cope with their duties despite the time pressures faced by elder law practices. This structure may not work for all NAELA chapters, but all chapters should consider whether it would be a good idea for their organization. If anyone would like to talk to me about this, please feel free to call me at 713-660-9595.