ENROLLED
2020 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 29
BY REPRESENTATIVES BUTLER, BAGLEY, ADAMS, AMEDEE, BOURRIAQUE,
BRASS, CARRIER, GARY CARTER, COUSSAN, COX, DEVILLIER,
DESHOTEL, ECHOLS, EDMONDS, EDMONSTON, FIRMENT, FONTENOT,
FREEMAN, FREIBERG, GADBERRY, GAROFALO, GREEN, HORTON,
HUGHES, JEFFERSON, JENKINS, JONES, MCKNIGHT, MOORE, NEWELL,
PRESSLY, RISER, ROMERO, SCHEXNAYDER, THOMAS, THOMPSON,
VILLIO, WHITE, AND WILLARD AND SENATORS ABRAHAM, BARROW,
BERNARD, BOUDREAUX, BOUIE, CARTER, CATHEY, CLOUD, CONNICK,
CORTEZ, FESI, FIELDS, FOIL, HARRIS, HENSGENS, HEWITT, JACKSON,
JOHNS, LUNEAU, MCMATH, FRED MILLS, ROBERT MILLS, MIZELL,
MORRIS, PEACOCK, POPE, REESE, SMITH, TALBOT, TARVER, WARD, AND
WOMACK
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To amend the Louisiana Department of Health rule, LAC 50:VII.33103(A)(2), which
provides for leaves of absence for residents of intermediate care facilities for persons
with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to provide for retroactive and
prospective application of the amendments, and to direct the office of the state
register to print the amendments in the Louisiana Administrative Code.
WHEREAS, intermediate care facilities for persons with intellectual and
developmental disabilities, known commonly as ICF/DD and ICF/ID, are residential
facilities at which children and adults with special needs receive individualized health care
and habilitation services; and
WHEREAS, these facilities are regulated under the provisions of Part VI-E of
Chapter 11 of Title 40 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 (R.S. 40:2180 et seq.) and
Subpart 3 of Part VII of the Louisiana Administrative Code (LAC 50:VII.30101 et seq.); and
WHEREAS, state regulations concerning Medicaid funding of ICF/ID care, which
provide for a system of per diem payments to these facilities, prohibit the state Medicaid
program, with limited exceptions, from covering more than forty-five leave of absence days
for any ICF/ID resident in any state fiscal year (July 1 through June 30); and
WHEREAS, the effect of these regulations is to make families liable for paying the
per diem to the ICF/ID for their loved ones' leaves of absence for the number of days
exceeding forty-five days in total in a state fiscal year; and
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WHEREAS, during Louisiana's state of public health emergency that was first
declared on March 11, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and which continues
as of the date of filing of this Resolution, many families have chosen to provide care for
extended periods in their own homes for their loved ones who are ICF/ID clients; and
WHEREAS, in these most challenging of times, these families have made difficult
decisions and great sacrifices to protect the best interests of their most fragile family
members who cannot care for themselves; and
WHEREAS, many of these families now face financial hardship because their loved
ones have exceeded the number of Medicaid-covered ICF/ID leave of absence days allowed
by state regulations; and
WHEREAS, the provisions of R.S. 49:969 authorize the legislature, by concurrent
resolution, to suspend, amend, or repeal any rule or regulation adopted by a state department,
agency, board, or commission.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of Louisiana that LAC
50:VII.33103(A)(2) is hereby amended to read as follows:
§33103. Payment Limitations
A. Temporary Absence of the Client. A client's temporary absence from an
ICF/ID will not interrupt the monthly vendor payment to the ICF/ID, provided the
following conditions are met:
* * *
2. the absence is for one of the following reasons:
a. hospitalization, which does not exceed seven days per hospitalization; or
b. leave of absence. A temporary stay outside the ICF/ID provided for in the
client's written individual habilitation plan. A leave of absence will not exceed 45
days per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) and will not exceed 30 consecutive days
in any single occurrence. Certain leaves of absence will be excluded from the annual
45-day limit as long as the leave does not exceed the 30-consecutive day limit and
is included in the written individual habilitation plan. These exceptions are as
follows:
i. Special Olympics;
ii. roadrunner-sponsored events;
iii. Louisiana planned conferences;
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iv. trial discharge leave;
v. official state holidays; and
vi. two days for bereavement of close family members.
(a). Close Family Members—parent, step-parent, child, step-child, brother,
step-brother, sister, step-sister, spouse, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grand-parent,
or grandchild.
c. The following leaves of absence will be excluded from both the annual
45-day limit and the 30-consecutive day limit as long as the leave of absence is
included in the written habilitation plan:
i. any leave of absence during a declared federal public emergency by the
Department of Health and Human Services.
* * *
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the provisions of this Resolution shall be given
prospective and retroactive application and shall be applied retroactively to March 11, 2020.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the provisions of this Resolution shall not be
implemented unless approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
office of the state register and the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of the state register is hereby directed
to have the amendments to LAC 50:VII.33103(A)(2) printed and incorporated into the
Louisiana Administrative Code.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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