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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1418
January Session, 2025
AN ACT REDUCING BARRIERS TO FOOD SECURITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section, 1
"food as medicine" has the same meaning as provided in section 17b-2
790c of the general statutes. The Commissioner of Social Services shall 3
apply for a Medicaid waiver under Section 1115 of the Social Security 4
Act to provide Medicaid coverage for food as medicine. 5
(b) Not later than January 1, 2026, the commissioner shall file a report, 6
in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 7
with the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 8
cognizance of matters relating to human services and public health on 9
the number of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving food as medicine and 10
any available data on the effect of food as medicine on the chronic health 11
conditions of such beneficiaries. 12
Sec. 2. Section 17b-105a of the general statutes is amended by adding 13
subsections (e) and (f) as follows (Effective July 1, 2025): 14
(NEW) (e) The Commissioner of Social Services shall, within 15
available appropriations, increase the minimum monthly supplemental 16
nutrition assistance benefit to ninety-five dollars. 17 Substitute Bill No. 1418
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(NEW) (f) Not later than September 1, 2025, the Commissioner of 18
Social Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Agriculture, 19
shall, within available appropriations, establish a healthy food incentive 20
program under which supplemental nutrition assistance beneficiaries, 21
who purchase fresh produce at certified farmers' markets, shall be 22
credited one dollar in supplemental nutrition assistance benefits for 23
every one dollar they spend in such benefits on such purchases, 24
provided the credit shall not exceed fifty dollars monthly. For purposes 25
of this subsection, "fresh produce" and "certified farmers' market" have 26
the same meanings as provided in section 22-6r. 27
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 17b-105a(e) and (f)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 2(f), "in such benefits" was added for clarity.
HS Joint Favorable Subst.