LCO No. 4264 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 980
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4264
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT ELIMINATING INCOME AND ASSET LIMI TS FOR THE MED-
CONNECT PROGRAM FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17b-597 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 2
(a) The Department of Social Services shall establish and implement 3
a working persons with disabilities program to provide medical 4
assistance as authorized under 42 USC 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii), as amended 5
from time to time, to persons who are disabled and regularly employed. 6
(b) The Commissioner of Social Services shall amend the Medicaid 7
state plan to allow persons specified in subsection (a) of this section to 8
qualify for medical assistance. The amendment shall [include the 9
following requirements: (1) That the person be engaged in a substantial 10
and reasonable work effort as determined by the commissioner and as 11
permitted by federal law and have an annual adjusted gross income, as 12
defined in Section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any 13
subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, 14
as amended from time to time, of no more than seventy-five thousand 15 Raised Bill No. 980
LCO No. 4264 2 of 3
dollars per year; (2) a disregard of all countable income up to two 16
hundred per cent of the federal poverty level; (3) for an unmarried 17
person, an asset limit of ten thousand dollars, and for a married couple, 18
an asset limit of fifteen thousand dollars; (4) a disregard of any 19
retirement and medical savings accounts established pursuant to 26 20
USC 220 and held by either the person or the person's spouse; (5) a 21
disregard of any moneys in accounts designated by the person or the 22
person's spouse for the purpose of purchasing goods or services that 23
will increase the employability of such person, subject to approval by 24
the commissioner; (6) a disregard of spousal income solely for purposes 25
of determination of eligibility; and (7)] require (1) that the person be 26
engaged in a substantial and reasonable work effort as determined by 27
the commissioner and as permitted by federal law; and (2) a 28
contribution of any countable income of the person or the person's 29
spouse which exceeds two hundred per cent of the federal poverty level, 30
as adjusted for the appropriate family size, equal to ten per cent of the 31
excess minus any premiums paid from income for health insurance by 32
any family member, but which does not exceed the maximum 33
contribution allowable under Section 201(a)(3) of Public Law 106-170, as 34
amended from time to time. 35
(c) The Commissioner of Social Services shall implement the policies 36
and procedures necessary to carry out the provisions of this section 37
while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures in 38
regulation form, provided notice of intent to adopt the regulations is 39
[published in the Connecticut Law Journal within twenty days after 40
implementation. The commissioner shall define "countable income" for 41
purposes of subsection (b) of this section which shall take into account 42
impairment-related work expenses as defined in the Social Security Act] 43
published on the eRegulations System in accordance with section 17b-44
10. Such policies and procedures shall be valid until the time final 45
regulations are effective. 46
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Raised Bill No. 980
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Section 1 July 1, 2021 17b-597
Statement of Purpose:
To eliminate income and asset limits for working persons with
disabilities to qualify for Medicaid.
[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.]