Bill Text: CA AB1042 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Medi-Cal: beneficiary maintenance needs: home upkeep allowances: transitional needs funds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1042 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB1042-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
June 13, 2019 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 1042 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Wood |
February 21, 2019 |
An act to add Section 14005.125 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1042, as amended, Wood.
Medi-Cal: beneficiary maintenance needs: home upkeep allowances: transitional needs funds.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Qualified individuals under the Medi-Cal program include medically needy persons and medically needy family persons who meet the required eligibility criteria, including applicable income requirements.
Existing law requires the department to establish income levels for maintenance need at the lowest levels that reasonably permit a medically needy person to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, and for which federal financial participation will still be provided under applicable federal law. In calculating the income of a medically needy person in a
medical institution or nursing facility, or a person receiving institutional or noninstitutional services from a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly organization, the required monthly maintenance amount includes, among other things, includes an amount providing for the upkeep and maintenance of the person’s home. This amount is also referred to as the home upkeep allowance.
Existing law requires that the maintenance of need amount provide for personal and incidental needs in an amount not less than $35 for a person in a medical institution or nursing facility, or for a person receiving institutional or noninstitutional services from a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly organization.
Existing
law authorizes the Director of Health Care Services to adopt, amend, or repeal reasonable rules and regulations to carry out the purposes and intent of the Medi-Cal program, that are not inconsistent with any state statute. The department has adopted regulatory requirements relating to the determination of the home upkeep allowance described above.
This bill would establish eligibility and other requirements for providing the home upkeep allowance or a transitional needs fund to Medi-Cal patients residing in a long-term care facility, as specified. facility. The bill would prescribe both general and specific requirements for both facility residents who intend to leave the facility and return to
an existing home, who would receive the home upkeep allowance, and for residents who do not have a home but intend to leave the facility and establish a new home, who could establish a transitional needs fund for the purpose of meeting the transitional costs of establishing a home.
The bill would, would require the department to implement, subject to federal approval and federal financial participation, require the department to implement these provisions by means of various instructions, including provider bulletins, to adopt regulations within 5 years of implementation of these provisions, and to provide a status report to the Legislature on a semiannual basis until regulations have been
adopted. The bill would require the department to inform appropriate long-term care facility residents and notify specified personnel and healthcare health care facilities of the existence and availability of the home upkeep allowance and the transitional needs fund.
Because counties are required to make Medi-Cal eligibility determinations, and this bill would impose new eligibility requirements for purposes of these allowances, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 14005.125 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, immediately following section 14005.12, to read:14005.125.
(a) (1) For purposes of this section, “home upkeep allowance” means the “allowance for home(2) The home upkeep allowance shall be available to long-term care
facility residents who are Medi-Cal recipients and meet the requirements of this section.
(3) A long-term care facility resident who intends to leave the facility and return to their existing home shall be provided with a home upkeep allowance as follows:
(A) The allowance shall be set aside from the income that otherwise would be applied toward the resident’s Medi-Cal share of cost for residing in the facility.
(B) The allowance shall be based on the actual minimum cost of maintaining the resident’s home, including, but not limited to, mortgage or rent, property taxes, and required insurance, but shall not exceed the monthly amount of 100 percent of the federal poverty level for one person.
(C) The allowance shall be an exempt resource for purposes of determining eligibility for the Medi-Cal program.
(D) The allowance shall be deducted for not more than six months and shall be available only if a physician has certified that the resident is likely to return to their home within six months.
(4) On or before July 1, 2020, the department shall seek federal approval to implement the requirements of this subdivision. This subdivision shall be implemented only if, and to the extent that, federal financial participation is available and any necessary federal approvals have been obtained.
(b) (1) A transitional needs fund shall be
available to long-term care facility residents described in this section.
(2) If a long-term care facility resident does not have a home, but intends to leave the facility and establish a home in the community, the resident may establish a transitional needs fund for the purpose of meeting the transitional costs of establishing a home, as follows:
(A) The fund shall be set aside from the income that otherwise would be applied toward the resident’s Medi-Cal share of cost for residing in the facility.
(B) The total amount of the resident’s transitional needs fund shall not exceed the monthly amount of 100 percent of the federal poverty level for one person for a total of six months.
(C) The fund shall be an exempt resource for purposes of determining eligibility for the Medi-Cal program.
(D) The fund shall be used to cover the costs of securing a home for the individual, including, but not limited to, rent, security and utility deposits, accessibility modifications necessary to meet the needs of the individual, and essential furnishings.
(E) The allowance shall be deducted for not more than six months and shall be available only if a physician has certified that the resident is likely to return to their community within six months.
(3) On or before July 1, 2020, the department shall seek federal approval to implement the requirements of this subdivision. This subdivision shall be
implemented only if, and to the extent that, federal financial participation is available and any necessary federal approvals have been obtained.
(c) (1) The six-month period described in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) and subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) is cumulative. The allowance specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not be approved if the resident has either received a home upkeep allowance for a full six-month period or a transitional needs fund for a full six-month period during a continuous period of institutionalization.
(2) If the resident receives either a home upkeep allowance or a transitional needs fund for fewer than six months during the same continuous period of institutionalization, a home upkeep
allowance or a transitional needs fund may be approved for any remaining portion of the maximum six-month period.
(d) In implementing this section, the department shall undertake all of the following information and outreach activities:
(1) Inform residents in all Medi-Cal funded long-term care facilities of the existence and availability of the home upkeep allowance and the transitional needs fund.
(2) Include information on the existence and availability of the home upkeep allowance and the transitional needs fund in the “Notice Regarding Standards for Medi-Cal Eligibility” provided for in Section 14006.4.
(3) Notify Medi-Cal branches, eligibility workers,
long-term care facilities, hospital discharge planners, and organizations receiving state funds to assist nursing home residents of the existence and availability of the home upkeep allowance and the transitional needs fund.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the department, without taking any further regulatory action, shall implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or similar instructions until the time regulations are adopted.
(2) The department shall adopt regulations within five years of implementation of this section, in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(3) Beginning six months after the effective date of this section, notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the department shall provide a status report to the Legislature on a semiannual basis, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, until regulations have been adopted.
