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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 337
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2466
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT CONCERNING FEDERAL VETERANS' BENEFITS AND
INCOME ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-28i of the 2022 supplement to 1
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 3
(a) To the extent permissible by federal law, the Commissioner of 4
Social Services shall disregard all federal [Aid and Attendance pension] 5
benefits administered by the United States Department of Veterans 6
Affairs and granted to a veteran or the surviving spouse of such veteran 7
when determining income eligibility for the state's Medicare savings, 8
medical assistance and energy assistance programs administered under 9
section 17b-2. As used in this subsection, "veteran" has the same 10
meaning as provided in section 27-103. 11
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 17b-104 of the 2022 supplement to the 12
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 13 Raised Bill No. 337
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thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 14
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall administer the program 15
of state supplementation to the Supplemental Security Income Program 16
provided for by the Social Security Act and state law. The commissioner 17
may delegate any powers and authority to any deputy, assistant, 18
investigator or supervisor, who shall have, within the scope of the 19
power and authority so delegated, all of the power and authority of the 20
Commissioner of Social Services. The commissioner shall establish a 21
standard of need based on the cost of living in this state for the 22
temporary family assistance program and the state-administered 23
general assistance program. The commissioner shall make a 24
reinvestigation, at least every twelve months, of all cases receiving aid 25
from the state, except that such reinvestigation may be conducted every 26
twenty-four months for recipients of assistance to the elderly or disabled 27
with stable circumstances, and shall maintain all case records of the 28
several programs administered by the Department of Social Services so 29
that such records show, at all times, full information with respect to 30
eligibility of the applicant or recipient. In the determination of need 31
under any public assistance program, such income or earnings shall be 32
disregarded as federal law requires, and such income or earnings may 33
be disregarded as federal law permits. In determining eligibility, the 34
commissioner shall disregard from income (1) [Aid and Attendance 35
pension] all federal benefits administered by the United States 36
Department of Veterans Affairs and granted to a veteran, as defined 37
[under] in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran, and 38
(2) any tax refund or advance payment with respect to a refundable 39
credit to the same extent such refund or advance payment would be 40
disregarded under 26 USC 6409 in any federal program or state or local 41
program financed in whole or in part with federal funds. 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 2022 supplement to the 45
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 46 Raised Bill No. 337
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thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 47
(c) To be eligible for cash assistance under the program, a person shall 48
(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] disregard from income (A) [Aid 55
and Attendance pension] all federal benefits administered by the United 56
States Department of Veterans Affairs and granted to a veteran, as 57
defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran; and 58
(B) any tax refund or advance payment with respect to a refundable 59
credit to the same extent such refund or advance payment would be 60
disregarded under 26 USC 6409 in any federal program or state or local 61
program financed in whole or in part with federal funds. No person who 62
is a substance abuser and refuses or fails to enter available, appropriate 63
treatment shall be eligible for cash assistance under the program until 64
such person enters treatment. No person whose benefits from the 65
temporary family assistance program have terminated as a result of 66
time-limited benefits or for failure to comply with a program 67
requirement shall be eligible for cash assistance under the program. 68
Sec. 4. Section 17b-256f of the general statutes is repealed and the 69
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 70
The Commissioner of Social Services shall increase income disregards 71
used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services for the 72
federal Qualified Medicare Beneficiary, the Specified Low-Income 73
Medicare Beneficiary and the Qualifying Individual programs, 74
administered in accordance with the provisions of 42 USC 1396d(p), by 75
such amounts that shall result in persons with income that is (1) less 76
than two hundred eleven per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying 77
for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, (2) at or above two 78
hundred eleven per cent of the federal poverty level but less than two 79 Raised Bill No. 337
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hundred thirty-one per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying for 80
the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary program, and (3) at or 81
above two hundred thirty-one per cent of the federal poverty level but 82
less than two hundred forty-six per cent of the federal poverty level 83
qualifying for the Qualifying Individual program. The commissioner 84
shall not apply an asset test for eligibility under the Medicare Savings 85
Program. The commissioner shall [not consider as] disregard from 86
income [Aid and Attendance pension] all federal benefits administered 87
by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and granted to a 88
veteran, as defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such 89
veteran. The Commissioner of Social Services, pursuant to section 17b-90
10, may implement policies and procedures to administer the provisions 91
of this section while in the process of adopting such policies and 92
procedures in regulation form, provided the commissioner prints notice 93
of the intent to adopt the regulations on the department's Internet web 94
site and the eRegulations System not later than twenty days after the 95
date of implementation. Such policies and procedures shall be valid 96
until the time final regulations are adopted. 97
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 17b-261 of the 2022 supplement to the 98
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 99
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 100
(a) Medical assistance shall be provided for any otherwise eligible 101
person whose income, including any available support from legally 102
liable relatives and the income of the person's spouse or dependent 103
child, is not more than one hundred forty-three per cent, pending 104
approval of a federal waiver applied for pursuant to subsection (e) of 105
this section, of the benefit amount paid to a person with no income 106
under the temporary family assistance program in the appropriate 107
region of residence and if such person is an institutionalized individual 108
as defined in Section 1917 of the Social Security Act, 42 USC 1396p(h)(3), 109
and has not made an assignment or transfer or other disposition of 110
property for less than fair market value for the purpose of establishing 111
eligibility for benefits or assistance under this section. Any such 112 Raised Bill No. 337
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disposition shall be treated in accordance with Section 1917(c) of the 113
Social Security Act, 42 USC 1396p(c). Any disposition of property made 114
on behalf of an applicant or recipient or the spouse of an applicant or 115
recipient by a guardian, conservator, person authorized to make such 116
disposition pursuant to a power of attorney or other person so 117
authorized by law shall be attributed to such applicant, recipient or 118
spouse. A disposition of property ordered by a court shall be evaluated 119
in accordance with the standards applied to any other such disposition 120
for the purpose of determining eligibility. The commissioner shall 121
establish the standards for eligibility for medical assistance at one 122
hundred forty-three per cent of the benefit amount paid to a household 123
of equal size with no income under the temporary family assistance 124
program in the appropriate region of residence. In determining 125
eligibility, the commissioner shall [not consider as] disregard from 126
income [Aid and Attendance pension] all federal benefits administered 127
by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and granted to a 128
veteran, as defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such 129
veteran. Except as provided in section 17b-277 and section 17b-292, the 130
medical assistance program shall provide coverage to persons under the 131
age of nineteen with household income up to one hundred ninety-six 132
per cent of the federal poverty level without an asset limit and to 133
persons under the age of nineteen, who qualify for coverage under 134
Section 1931 of the Social Security Act, with household income not 135
exceeding one hundred ninety-six per cent of the federal poverty level 136
without an asset limit, and their parents and needy caretaker relatives, 137
who qualify for coverage under Section 1931 of the Social Security Act, 138
with household income not exceeding one hundred fifty-five per cent of 139
the federal poverty level without an asset limit. Such levels shall be 140
based on the regional differences in such benefit amount, if applicable, 141
unless such levels based on regional differences are not in conformance 142
with federal law. Any income in excess of the applicable amounts shall 143
be applied as may be required by said federal law, and assistance shall 144
be granted for the balance of the cost of authorized medical assistance. 145
The Commissioner of Social Services shall provide applicants for 146
assistance under this section, at the time of application, with a written 147 Raised Bill No. 337
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statement advising them of (1) the effect of an assignment or transfer or 148
other disposition of property on eligibility for benefits or assistance, (2) 149
the effect that having income that exceeds the limits prescribed in this 150
subsection will have with respect to program eligibility, and (3) the 151
availability of, and eligibility for, services provided by the Connecticut 152
Home Visiting System, established pursuant to section 17b-751b. For 153
coverage dates on or after January 1, 2014, the department shall use the 154
modified adjusted gross income financial eligibility rules set forth in 155
Section 1902(e)(14) of the Social Security Act and the implementing 156
regulations to determine eligibility for HUSKY A, HUSKY B and 157
HUSKY D applicants, as defined in section 17b-290. Persons who are 158
determined ineligible for assistance pursuant to this section shall be 159
provided a written statement notifying such persons of their ineligibility 160
and advising such persons of their potential eligibility for one of the 161
other insurance affordability programs as defined in 42 CFR 435.4. 162
Sec. 6. Subsection (l) of section 17b-342 of the 2022 supplement to the 163
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 164
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 165
(l) In determining eligibility for the program described in this section, 166
the commissioner shall [not consider as] disregard from income (1) [Aid 167
and Attendance pension] all federal benefits administered by the United 168
States Department of Veterans Affairs and granted to a veteran, as 169
defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran, and 170
(2) any tax refund or advance payment with respect to a refundable 171
credit to the same extent such refund or advance payment would be 172
disregarded under 26 USC 6409 in any federal program or state or local 173
program financed in whole or in part with federal funds. 174
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 17b-801 of the general statutes is 175
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 176
2022): 177
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall administer a state-178
appropriated fuel assistance program to provide, within available 179 Raised Bill No. 337
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appropriations, fuel assistance to elderly and disabled persons whose 180
household gross income is above the income eligibility guidelines for 181
the Connecticut energy assistance program but does not exceed two 182
hundred per cent of federal poverty guidelines. The income eligibility 183
guidelines for the state-appropriated fuel assistance program shall be 184
determined, annually, by the Commissioner of Social Services, in 185
conjunction with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. 186
In determining eligibility, the commissioner shall [not consider as] 187
disregard from income [Aid and Attendance pension] all federal 188
benefits administered by the United States Department of Veterans 189
Affairs and granted to a veteran, as defined [under] in section 27-103, or 190
the surviving spouse of such veteran. The commissioner may adopt 191
regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to 192
implement the provisions of this subsection. 193
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 17b-28i(a)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 17b-104(a)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2022 17b-191(c)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2022 17b-256f
Sec. 5 July 1, 2022 17b-261(a)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2022 17b-342(l)
Sec. 7 July 1, 2022 17b-801(a)
VA Joint Favorable C/R APP