Senate File 615 - Introduced SENATE FILE 615 BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS (SUCCESSOR TO SF 599) (SUCCESSOR TO SF 363) A BILL FOR An Act relating to work requirements for the Iowa health and 1 wellness plan, public assistance programs, an information 2 technology fund, the public assistance modernization fund, 3 and the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities 4 program, and including effective date provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko
S.F. 615 DIVISION I 1 IOWA HEALTH AND WELLNESS PLAN WORK REQUIREMENTS 2 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 249N.4A Work requirements. 3 1. The department shall request any federal approval 4 necessary to include work requirements as a condition of a 5 member maintaining eligibility for the Iowa health and wellness 6 plan. 7 2. The goal of including work requirements is to reduce the 8 dependence of low-income Iowans on public assistance programs 9 through efforts that advance economic stability and mobility. 10 3. The department shall require as a condition of 11 maintaining eligibility for the Iowa health and wellness 12 plan that a member work at least eighty hours each month, as 13 determined by the department. 14 4. The department shall exempt an individual from the work 15 requirements for the Iowa health and wellness plan if the 16 individual meets any of the following criteria: 17 a. The individual is under nineteen years of age. 18 b. The individual is sixty-five years of age or older. 19 c. The individual is determined to be disabled by the United 20 States social security administration. 21 d. The individual is identified as medically frail or 22 medically exempt under the Medicaid program. 23 e. The individual is a caretaker of a dependent child under 24 six years of age. 25 f. The individual is pregnant and the pregnancy is high 26 risk. 27 g. The individual is receiving unemployment compensation as 28 determined by the department of workforce development. 29 h. The individual is participating in substance use disorder 30 treatment, not to exceed a consecutive six-month period. 31 i. The individual is otherwise exempt for good cause as 32 determined by the director. 33 5. To maximize fiscal stability and administrative 34 efficiency, any exemption applied under the Iowa health and 35 -1- LSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko 1/ 6
S.F. 615 wellness plan shall be substantially similar to the exemptions 1 applied under other public assistance programs. 2 6. Upon the departments receipt of federal approval, 3 and the departments operationalizing of a real-time system 4 to facilitate recipient reporting and department evaluation 5 efforts, the department shall implement work requirements as a 6 condition of maintaining eligibility for the Iowa health and 7 wellness plan. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to 8 chapter 17A as necessary to administer the work requirements 9 for the Iowa health and wellness plan. 10 7. The department may resubmit a request for federal 11 approval submitted under subsection 1 if the initial request is 12 denied or withdrawn for any reason. 13 8. If federal law or regulations affecting work 14 requirements for the Iowa health and wellness plan are modified 15 to exclude work requirements as a basis for maintaining 16 eligibility as provided in this section, the department shall 17 discontinue the Iowa health and wellness plan, subject to 18 federal approval. If, under federal law, the department is not 19 allowed to discontinue the Iowa health and wellness plan, the 20 department may implement an alternative plan as specified in 21 the medical assistance state plan or waiver for coverage of the 22 affected population, subject to prior statutory approval of 23 implementation of the alternative plan. 24 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being 25 deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 26 DIVISION II 27 WORK RULES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS 28 Sec. 3. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS WORK RULES AND 29 REQUIREMENTS ALIGNMENT. The department of health and human 30 services shall work with the United State department of 31 health and human services and the United States department 32 of agriculture to align the requirements and rules for 33 participants of public assistance programs related to working, 34 including but not limited to rules and requirements related 35 -2- LSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko 2/ 6
S.F. 615 to employment and training for the supplemental nutrition 1 assistance program. 2 DIVISION III 3 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 4 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 217.25 Information technology fund. 5 1. An information technology fund is created in the state 6 treasury under the control of the department of health and 7 human services. The fund shall consist of moneys appropriated 8 or transferred to, or deposited in, the fund as provided 9 by law. All moneys deposited or paid into the fund are 10 appropriated to the department of health and human services 11 to be used for information technology systems and related 12 modernization initiatives. 13 2. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated in 14 this section that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the 15 close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain 16 available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the 17 close of the succeeding fiscal year. Notwithstanding section 18 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund 19 shall be credited to the fund. 20 Sec. 5. TRANSFER OF MONEYS. Any unobligated or unencumbered 21 moneys remaining in the public assistance modernization 22 fund created in section 239.11, on June 30, 2025, shall be 23 transferred to the information technology fund created in 24 section 217.25, as enacted in this division of this Act. 25 Sec. 6. REPEAL. Section 239.11, Code 2025, is repealed. 26 DIVISION IV 27 MEDICAID FOR EMPLOYED PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES PROGRAM 28 Sec. 7. Section 249A.3, subsection 2, paragraph a, 29 subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (a), Code 2025, is 30 amended to read as follows: 31 (a) As allowed under 42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XIII), 32 individuals with disabilities, who are less than sixty-five 33 years of age, who are members of families whose income is 34 less than two hundred fifty percent of the most recently 35 -3- LSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko 3/ 6
S.F. 615 revised official poverty guidelines published by the United 1 States department of health and human services for the family, 2 who have earned income and who are eligible for mandatory 3 medical assistance or optional medical assistance under this 4 section if earnings are disregarded. As allowed by 42 U.S.C. 5 1396a(r)(2), unearned income shall also be disregarded in 6 determining whether an individual is eligible for assistance 7 under this subparagraph. For the purposes of determining the 8 amount of an individuals resources under this subparagraph and 9 as allowed by 42 U.S.C. 1396a(r)(2), a maximum of ten thousand 10 dollars of available resources for an individual and twenty-one 11 thousand dollars of available resources for a couple shall be 12 disregarded, and any additional resources held in a retirement 13 account, in a medical savings account, or in any other account 14 approved under rules adopted by the department shall also be 15 disregarded. 16 EXPLANATION 17 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 18 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 19 This bill relates to work requirements for the Iowa health 20 and wellness plan (IHAWP), public assistance programs, 21 an information technology fund, the public assistance 22 modernization fund, and the Medicaid for employed people with 23 disabilities program. 24 DIVISION I. This division requires the department of health 25 and human services (HHS) to request any federal approval 26 necessary to include work requirements as a condition of 27 maintaining eligibility for IHAWP. 28 HHS shall require as a condition of eligibility for IHAWP 29 that a member work at least 80 hours each month, as determined 30 by HHS. HHS shall exempt certain individuals from the work 31 requirement who are under 19 years of age, 65 years of age or 32 older, determined to be disabled by the United States social 33 security administration, medically frail or medically exempt 34 under Medicaid, a caretaker of a child under 6 years of age, 35 -4- LSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko 4/ 6
S.F. 615 experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, receiving unemployment 1 compensation, participating in substance use disorder 2 treatment, or exempt for good cause as determined by the 3 director of HHS. The division requires that any exemption 4 applied under IHAWP shall be substantially similar to the 5 exemptions applied under other public assistance programs. 6 The division requires that upon HHSs receipt of federal 7 approval and HHSs operationalizing of a system to facilitate 8 recipient reporting and HHS evaluation efforts, HHS shall 9 implement and adopt rules to administer work requirements as a 10 condition of maintaining eligibility for IHAWP. 11 HHS may resubmit a request for federal approval under the 12 division if the initial request is denied or withdrawn for any 13 reason. 14 If federal law or regulations exclude work requirements for 15 IHAWP, HHS shall discontinue IHAWP or implement an alternative 16 plan as described in the bill. 17 The division takes effect upon enactment. 18 DIVISION II. This division requires HHS to work with the 19 United States department of health and human services and 20 the United States department of agriculture to align the 21 departments work rules and requirements for participants of 22 public assistance programs, including but not limited to rules 23 and requirements related to employment and training for the 24 supplemental nutrition assistance program. 25 DIVISION III. This division creates an information 26 technology fund in the state treasury under the control of HHS. 27 All moneys in the fund shall be appropriated to HHS to be used 28 for information technology systems and related modernization 29 initiatives. 30 The division repeals the public assistance modernization 31 fund, and transfers any unobligated and unencumbered moneys in 32 the fund on June 30, 2025, to the information technology fund 33 created in the division. 34 DIVISION IV. Currently, for the purposes of determining the 35 -5- LSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko 5/ 6
S.F. 615 resources of an individual to meet the eligibility requirements 1 for the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities program 2 (MEPD) program, a maximum of $10,000 of available resources is 3 disregarded, in addition to any additional resources held in 4 a retirement account, in a medical savings account, or in any 5 other account approved under rules adopted by HHS. The bill 6 maintains the maximum amount of $10,000 in available resources 7 disregarded for an individual, but provides that for the 8 purposes of determining the resources of a couple, a maximum 9 amount of $21,000 of available resources is disregarded. 10 -6- LSB 1296SZ (3) 91 lh/ko 6/ 6