H1030 - 2016 Appropriations Act. (SL 2016-94)

Overview: Sec. 12C.7 of S.L. 2016-94, as amended by Sec. 5.3 of S.L. 2016-123, provides temporary financial assistance on behalf of each resident who is a recipient of State-County Special Assistance (SA) and issued in the form of a monthly payment to facilities licensed to accept State-County SA payments. Counties must pay to the State 50% of the cost to provide these monthly payments to these facilities. The payments are provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Social Services (DSS), and are subject to the following requirements and limitations:

• The amount of the monthly payments is equal to $34 per month for each resident who is a recipient of State-County SA.
• A facility that receives the monthly payments must not, under any circumstances, use the payments for any purpose other than to offset the cost of serving residents who are recipients of State-County SA.
• DSS must to make monthly payments to a facility on behalf of a resident only for the period commencing October 1, 2016, and ending June 30, 2017.
• DSS must make monthly payments only to the extent sufficient State and county funds allocated to the DSS for the 2016-2017 fiscal year are available for this purpose.
• DSS is prohibited from making monthly payments to a facility on behalf of a resident whose eligibility determination for State-County SA is pending.
• DSS must terminate all monthly payments pursuant to this section on the earlier of the following: June 30, 201, or upon depletion of the State and county funds allocated to the DSS for the 2016-2017 fiscal year for this purpose.

No later than April 1, 2017, DHHS must submit to the House Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Fiscal Research Division, a detailed plan for a long-term solution to ensure adequate reimbursement to facilities serving State-County SA recipients. The solution may not include increasing the Medicaid eligibility income limit for State-County SA recipients.

This section became effective July 1, 2016, and expires June 30, 2017.