SLS 17RS-268 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 188
BY SENATOR HEWITT
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
MEDICAID. Provides relative to Medicaid recipient work requirements. (8/1/17)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 46:460.53, relative to Medicaid recipient work requirements; to provide for
3 a waiver; to provide for legislative intent; and to provide for related matters.
4 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
5 Section 1. R.S. 46:460.53 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
6 ยง460.53. Medicaid recipient work requirements
7 A. The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health shall submit an
8 1115 waiver request to the United States Department of Health and Human
9 Services, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hereinafter referred to
10 as "CMS", to implement a demonstration project in which certain Medicaid
11 recipients who are able-bodied adults must meet certain work requirements as
12 a condition of maintaining eligibility.
13 B. The 1115 waiver submitted pursuant to Subsection A of this Section
14 shall require that able-bodied adults participate in a community engagement
15 and employment initiative to maintain Medicaid eligibility and enrollment. The
16 hours required to satisfy this mandate shall be no less than twenty hours per
17 week, and may be implemented in a phase-in or all-at-once program as deemed
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 188
SLS 17RS-268 ORIGINAL
1 most effective by the secretary. In no event shall a phase in last for more than
2 one year. Children, pregnant women, individuals determined medically frail,
3 and adults who are the primary caregiver of a dependent, including a minor
4 child or an adult dependent with disabilities, shall be exempt from the
5 community engagement and employment initiative.
6 C. The purpose of the demonstration project is to ensure that able-
7 bodied adults who receive health care coverage and benefits through the
8 Louisiana Medicaid program participate in a community engagement and
9 employment initiative aimed at increasing workforce participation rates in
10 Louisiana. Meaningful work and participating as a contributing member of
11 society is a critical part of an individual's overall health and quality of life.
12 D. The CMS has acknowledged that the best way to improve long-term
13 health of low-income Americans is to empower them with skills and
14 employment. The agency supports innovative approaches by states to increase
15 employment and community engagement and is committed to programs that
16 have demonstrated success in assisting eligible low-income adult beneficiaries
17 to improve their economic standing and materially advance their lives to rise
18 out of poverty.
19 E. "Able-bodied adult" means a nondisabled adult without dependents
20 who is age nineteen to sixty-four years with an income below one hundred
21 thirty-eight percent of the federal poverty level.
22 F. "Community engagement and employment initiative" means
23 volunteer work, employment, caretaking, job training, education, or job search
24 activities made available through public or private entities that can be verified
25 by the department.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 188
SLS 17RS-268 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SB 188 Original 2017 Regular Session Hewitt
Proposed law mandates that the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health submit a
waiver request to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to get federal approval of
a Medicaid waiver that would require certain Medicaid recipients who are able-bodied adults
to meet work requirements as a condition of maintaining eligibility.
Proposed law provides for a community engagement and employment initiative that requires
up to 20 hours per week of work. Proposed law exempts children, pregnant women,
individuals determined medically frail, and adults who are the primary caregiver of a
dependent, including a minor child or an adult dependent with disabilities from the initiative.
Effective August 1, 2017.
(Adds R.S. 46:460.53)
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.