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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 244
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 1859
Referred to Committee on AGING
Introduced by:
(AGE)
AN ACT EXPANDING ACCESS TO THE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
RESPITE CARE PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-860 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Respite care services" means support services which provide 4
short-term relief from the demands of ongoing care for an individual 5
with Alzheimer's disease. 6
(2) "Caretaker" means a person who has the responsibility for the care 7
of an individual with Alzheimer's disease or has assumed the 8
responsibility for such individual voluntarily, by contract or by order of 9
a court of competent jurisdiction. 10
(3) "Copayment" means a payment made by or on behalf of an 11
individual with Alzheimer's disease for respite care services. 12
(4) "Individual with Alzheimer's disease" means an individual with 13 Raised Bill No. 244
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Alzheimer's disease or related disorders. 14
(b) The Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services shall operate 15
a program, within available appropriations, to provide respite care 16
services for caretakers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, 17
provided such individuals with Alzheimer's disease meet the 18
requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this section. Such respite care 19
services may include, but need not be limited to: (1) [homemaker] 20
Homemaker services; (2) adult day care; (3) temporary care in a licensed 21
medical facility; (4) home-health care; (5) companion services; or (6) 22
personal care assistant services. Such respite care services may be 23
administered directly by the Department of Aging and Disability 24
Services, or through contracts for services with providers of such 25
services, or by means of direct subsidy to caretakers of individuals with 26
Alzheimer's disease to purchase such services. 27
(c) (1) No individual with Alzheimer's disease may participate in the 28
program if such individual (A) has an annual income of more than forty-29
one thousand dollars or liquid assets of more than one hundred nine 30
thousand dollars, or (B) is receiving services under the Connecticut 31
home-care program for the elderly. On July 1, 2009, and annually 32
thereafter, the commissioner shall increase such income and asset 33
eligibility criteria over that of the previous fiscal year to reflect the 34
annual cost of living adjustment in Social Security income, if any. 35
(2) No individual with Alzheimer's disease who participates in the 36
program may receive more than three thousand five hundred dollars for 37
services under the program in any fiscal year or receive more than thirty 38
days of out-of-home respite care services other than adult day care 39
services under the program in any fiscal year, except that the 40
commissioner shall adopt regulations pursuant to subsection (d) of this 41
section to provide up to seven thousand five hundred dollars for 42
services to a participant in the program who demonstrates a need for 43
additional services. 44
(3) The commissioner may require an individual with Alzheimer's 45 Raised Bill No. 244
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disease who participates in the program to pay a copayment for respite 46
care services under the program, except the commissioner may waive 47
such copayment upon demonstration of financial hardship by such 48
individual. 49
(d) The commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with the 50
provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this section. 51
Such regulations shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) [standards] 52
Standards for eligibility for respite care services; (2) the basis for priority 53
in receiving services; (3) qualifications and requirements of providers, 54
which shall include specialized training in Alzheimer's disease, 55
dementia and related disorders; (4) a requirement that providers 56
accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare 57
Organizations, when available, receive preference in contracting for 58
services; (5) provider reimbursement levels; (6) limits on services and 59
cost of services; and (7) a fee schedule for copayments. 60
(e) The commissioner may allocate any funds appropriated in excess 61
of five hundred thousand dollars for the program among the five area 62
agencies on aging according to need, as determined by the 63
commissioner. 64
(f) The Commissioner of Social Services shall apply for any available 65
federal funding, including, but not limited to, a waiver under Section 66
1115 of the Social Security Act, as amended from time to time, to support 67
the program established pursuant to this section. 68
Sec. 2. Subsection (g) of section 17a-780 of the general statutes is 69
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 70
2024): 71
(g) The Department of Aging and Disability Services is designated as 72
the State Unit on Aging to administer, manage, design and advocate for 73
benefits, programs and services for older persons and their families 74
pursuant to the Older Americans Act. The department shall study 75
continuously the conditions and needs of older persons in this state in 76
relation to nutrition, transportation, home care, housing, income, 77 Raised Bill No. 244
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employment, health, recreation and other matters. The department shall 78
be responsible, in cooperation with federal, state, local and area 79
planning agencies on aging, for the overall planning, development and 80
administration of a comprehensive and integrated social service 81
delivery system for older persons. The Department of Aging and 82
Disability Services is designated as the state agency for the 83
administration of nutritional programs for elderly persons described in 84
section 17a-852, the fall prevention program described in section 17a-85
859, the CHOICES program described in section 17a-857, the Aging and 86
Disability Resource Center Program described in section 17a-858 and 87
the Alzheimer's [respite] disease respite care program described in 88
section 17b-860. 89
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 17a-860
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 17a-780(g)
Statement of Purpose:
To require the Commissioner of Social Services to seek, and, if issued,
implement a waiver under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act to seek
federal funds to support the Alzheimer's disease respite care program.
[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.]