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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 220
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1687
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT EXPANDING CER TAIN VETERANS' ELIGIBILITY FOR
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PR OGRAMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-28i of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2020): 3
(a) To the extent permissible by federal law, the Commissioner of 4
Social Services shall disregard federal Veterans Pension benefits, 5
Housebound benefits, Survivors Pension benefits and Aid and 6
Attendance [pension] benefits granted to a veteran or the surviving 7
spouse of such veteran when determining income eligibility for the 8
state's Medicare savings, medical assistance and energy assistance 9
programs administered under section 17b-2. As used in this subsection, 10
"veteran" means any person (1) honorably discharged from, or released 11
under honorable conditions from active service in, the armed forces, as 12
defined in section 27-103, or (2) with a qualifying condition, as defined 13
in said section, who has received a discharge other than bad conduct or 14
dishonorable from active service in the armed forces. 15 Raised Bill No. 220
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Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 17b-104 of the 2020 supplement to the 16
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 17
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 18
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall administer the program 19
of state supplementation to the Supplemental Security Income Program 20
provided for by the Social Security Act and state law. The commissioner 21
may delegate any powers and authority to any deputy, assistant, 22
investigator or supervisor, who shall have, within the scope of the 23
power and authority so delegated, all of the power and authority of the 24
Commissioner of Social Services. The commissioner shall establish a 25
standard of need based on the cost of living in this state for the 26
temporary family assistance program and the state-administered 27
general assistance program. The commissioner sh all make a 28
reinvestigation, at least every twelve months, of all cases receiving aid 29
from the state, except that such reinvestigation may be conducted every 30
twenty-four months for recipients of assistance to the elderly or disabled 31
with stable circumstances, and shall maintain all case records of the 32
several programs administered by the Department of Social Services so 33
that such records show, at all times, full information with respect to 34
eligibility of the applicant or recipient. In the determination of need 35
under any public assistance program, such income or earnings shall be 36
disregarded as federal law requires, and such income or earnings may 37
be disregarded as federal law permits. In determining eligibility, the 38
commissioner shall disregard from income federal Veterans Pension 39
benefits, Housebound benefits, Survivors Pension benefits and Aid and 40
Attendance [pension] benefits granted to a veteran, as defined under 41
section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran. The 42
commissioner shall encourage and promulgate such incentive earning 43
programs as are permitted by federal law and regulations. 44
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 17b-191 of the general statutes is 45
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 46
2020): 47
(c) To be eligible for cash assistance under the program, a person shall 48 Raised Bill No. 220
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(1) be (A) eighteen years of age or older; (B) a minor found by a court to 49
be emancipated pursuant to section 46b-150; or (C) under eighteen years 50
of age and the commissioner determines good cause for such person's 51
eligibility, and (2) not have assets exceeding two hundred fifty dollars 52
or, if such person is married, such person and his or her spouse shall not 53
have assets exceeding five hundred dollars. In determining eligibility, 54
the commissioner shall not consider as income federal Veterans Pension 55
benefits, Housebound benefits, Survivors Pension benefits and Aid and 56
Attendance [pension] benefits granted to a veteran, as defined in section 57
27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran. No person who is a 58
substance abuser and refuses or fails to enter available, appropriate 59
treatment shall be eligible for cash assistance under the program until 60
such person enters treatment. No person whose benefits from the 61
temporary family assistance program have terminated as a result of 62
time-limited benefits or for failure to comply with a program 63
requirement shall be eligible for cash assistance under the program. 64
Sec. 4. Section 17b-256f of the general statutes is repealed and the 65
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 66
The Commissioner of Social Services shall increase income disregards 67
used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services for the 68
federal Qualified Medicare Beneficiary, the Specified Low-Income 69
Medicare Beneficiary and the Qualifying Individual programs, 70
administered in accordance with the provisions of 42 USC 1396d(p), by 71
such amounts that shall result in persons with income that is (1) less 72
than two hundred eleven per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying 73
for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, (2) at or above two 74
hundred eleven per cent of the federal poverty level but less than two 75
hundred thirty-one per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying for 76
the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary program, and (3) at or 77
above two hundred thirty-one per cent of the federal poverty level but 78
less than two hundred forty-six per cent of the federal poverty level 79
qualifying for the Qualifying Individual program. The commissioner 80
shall not apply an asset test for eligibility under the Medicare Savings 81
Program. The commissioner shall not consider as income federal 82 Raised Bill No. 220
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Veterans Pension benefits, Housebound benefits, Survivors Pension 83
benefits and Aid and Attendance [pension] benefits granted to a 84
veteran, as defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such 85
veteran. The Commissioner of Social Services, pursuant to section 17b-86
10, may implement policies and procedures to administer the provisions 87
of this section while in the process of adopting such policies and 88
procedures in regulation form, provided the commissioner prints notice 89
of the intent to adopt the regulations on the department's Internet web 90
site and the eRegulations System not later than twenty days after the 91
date of implementation. Such policies and procedures shall be valid 92
until the time final regulations are adopted. 93
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 17b-261 of the 2020 supplement to the 94
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 95
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 96
(a) Medical assistance shall be provided for any otherwise eligible 97
person whose income, including any available support from legally 98
liable relatives and the income of the person's spouse or dependent 99
child, is not more than one hundred forty-three per cent, pending 100
approval of a federal waiver applied for pursuant to subsection (e) of 101
this section, of the benefit amount paid to a person with no income 102
under the temporary family assistance program in the appropriate 103
region of residence and if such person is an institutionalized individual 104
as defined in Section 1917 of the Social Security Act, 42 USC 1396p(h)(3), 105
and has not made an assignment or transfer or other disposition of 106
property for less than fair market value for the purpose of establishing 107
eligibility for benefits or assistance under this section. Any such 108
disposition shall be treated in accordance with Section 1917(c) of the 109
Social Security Act, 42 USC 1396p(c). Any disposition of property made 110
on behalf of an applicant or recipient or the spouse of an applicant or 111
recipient by a guardian, conservator, person authorized to make such 112
disposition pursuant to a power of attorney or other person so 113
authorized by law shall be attributed to such applicant, recipient or 114
spouse. A disposition of property ordered by a court shall be evaluated 115
in accordance with the standards applied to any other such disposition 116 Raised Bill No. 220
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for the purpose of determining eligibility. The commissioner shall 117
establish the standards for eligibility for medical assistance at one 118
hundred forty-three per cent of the benefit amount paid to a household 119
of equal size with no income under the temporary family assistance 120
program in the appropriate region of residence. In determining 121
eligibility, the commissioner shall not consider as income federal 122
Veterans Pension benefits, Housebound benefits, Survivors Pension 123
benefits and Aid and Attendance [pension] benefits granted to a 124
veteran, as defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such 125
veteran. Except as provided in section 17b-277 and section 17b-292, the 126
medical assistance program shall provide coverage to persons under the 127
age of nineteen with household income up to one hundred ninety-six 128
per cent of the federal poverty level without an asset limit and to 129
persons under the age of nineteen, who qualify for coverage under 130
Section 1931 of the Social Security Act, with household income not 131
exceeding one hundred ninety-six per cent of the federal poverty level 132
without an asset limit, and their parents and needy caretaker relatives, 133
who qualify for coverage under Section 1931 of the Social Security Act, 134
with household income not exceeding one hundred fifty-five per cent of 135
the federal poverty level without an asset limit. Such levels shall be 136
based on the regional differences in such benefit amount, if applicable, 137
unless such levels based on regional differences are not in conformance 138
with federal law. Any income in excess of the applicable amounts shall 139
be applied as may be required by said federal law, and assistance shall 140
be granted for the balance of the cost of authorized medical assistance. 141
The Commissioner of Social Services shall provide applicants for 142
assistance under this section, at the time of application, with a written 143
statement advising them of (1) the effect of an assignment or transfer or 144
other disposition of property on eligibility for benefits or assistance, (2) 145
the effect that having income that exceeds the limits prescribed in this 146
subsection will have with respect to program eligibility, and (3) the 147
availability of, and eligibility for, services provided by the Nurturing 148
Families Network established pursuant to section 17b-751b. For 149
coverage dates on or after January 1, 2014, the department shall use the 150
modified adjusted gross income financial eligibility rules set forth in 151 Raised Bill No. 220
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Section 1902(e)(14) of the Social Security Act and the implementing 152
regulations to determine eligibility for HUSKY A, HUSKY B and 153
HUSKY D applicants, as defined in section 17b-290. Persons who are 154
determined ineligible for assistance pursuant to this section shall be 155
provided a written statement notifying such persons of their ineligibility 156
and advising such persons of their potential eligibility for one of the 157
other insurance affordability programs as defined in 42 CFR 435.4. 158
Sec. 6. Subsection (l) of section 17b-342 of the general statutes is 159
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 160
2020): 161
(l) In determining eligibility for the program described in this section, 162
the commissioner shall not consider as income federal Veterans Pension 163
benefits, Housebound benefits, Survivors Pension benefits and Aid and 164
Attendance [pension] benefits granted to a veteran, as defined in section 165
27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran. 166
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 17b-801 of the general statutes is 167
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 168
2020): 169
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall administer a state-170
appropriated fuel assistance program to provide, within available 171
appropriations, fuel assistance to elderly and disabled persons whose 172
household gross income is above the income eligibility guidelines for 173
the Connecticut energy assistance program but does not exceed two 174
hundred per cent of federal poverty guidelines. The income eligibility 175
guidelines for the state-appropriated fuel assistance program shall be 176
determined, annually, by the Commissioner of Social Services, in 177
conjunction with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. 178
In determining eligibility, the commissioner shall not consider as 179
income federal Veterans Pension benefits, Housebound benefits, 180
Survivors Pension benefits and Aid and Attendance [pension] benefits 181
granted to a veteran, as defined under section 27-103, or the surviving 182
spouse of such veteran. The commissioner may adopt regulations, in 183 Raised Bill No. 220
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accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement the 184
provisions of this subsection. 185
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2020 17b-28i(a)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2020 17b-104(a)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2020 17b-191(c)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2020 17b-256f
Sec. 5 July 1, 2020 17b-261(a)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2020 17b-342(l)
Sec. 7 July 1, 2020 17b-801(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To exclude all veterans' pension benefits from income when
determining eligibility for public assistance programs.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]