H103 - 2022 Appropriations Act. (SL 2022-74)

Overview: Section 9A.1 of S.L. 2022-74 amends Section 9A.3A of S.L. 2021-180 that directed changes to the State-County Special Assistance (SA) program. S.L. 2021-180 brought the SA In-Home program into parity with the SA Adult Care Home program, effectively merging the two programs and allowing individuals to qualify for the SA program and receive Medicaid coverage, regardless of the individual's residential setting, based upon the criteria historically used for the SA Adult Care Home program. This section makes the following changes to S.L. 2021-180:

• Begins the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) a year earlier on January 1, 2023.
• No longer requires federal approval of the use of the savings deposited in the HCBS Fund to fund the SA program costs associated with the SA program changes as a condition of implementation.

The SA program changes become effective on the later of July 11, 2022, or 30 days after the date that both the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have approved the applications submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services. The remainder of this section became effective July 11, 2022.