Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1402 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3927 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1402
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Bridget Plouffe
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to protect MassHealth applicants facing undue hardship.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Bridget Plouffe9th Plymouth1/17/2025 1 of 2
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3927 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1402
18	18	By Representative Plouffe of Brockton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1402) of
19	19	Bridget Plouffe for legislation to establish criteria for MassHealth hardship waivers. Health Care
20	20	Financing.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act to protect MassHealth applicants facing undue hardship.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 Chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby
30	30	2amended by inserting after section 28 the following section:—
31	31	3 Section 28A.
32	32	4 (a) A nursing home resident may claim undue hardship in order to eliminate the period of
33	33	5ineligibility. In accordance with P.L. 109-171 amending Section 1917(c)(2)(D) of the Social
34	34	6Security Act, the division shall establish procedures for determining whether undue hardship
35	35	7exists as a result of the imposition of a period of ineligibility, which shall include written notice
36	36	8to said individual that an undue hardship exception exists, a timely process for determining
37	37	9whether an undue hardship waiver shall be granted and an opportunity to appeal an adverse
38	38	10determination. An individual may request an undue hardship waiver within 90 days after the date
39	39	11of the final decision to impose a period of ineligibility, including judicial appeals. 2 of 2
40	40	12 (b) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that an institutionalized individual is eligible
41	41	13for an undue hardship waiver if the individual provides documentation that all of the following
42	42	14criteria are met:
43	43	15 1) the individual has insufficient available resources, excluding the community spouse
44	44	16resource allowance, to provide medical care, food, shelter, clothing and other necessities of life
45	45	17such that the individual would be at risk of serious deprivation or harm;
46	46	18 2) the individual has made reasonable attempts to retrieve the transferred resources or
47	47	19receives adequate compensation;
48	48	20 3) there is no available less costly alternative to institutional care that would meet the
49	49	21individual's care needs; and
50	50	22 4) the period of ineligibility will not be a mere inconvenience to the applicant but rather
51	51	23will create a situation that would subject the applicant to risk of serious deprivation.
52	52	24 (c) A nursing home need not express an intent to discharge the individual for nonpayment
53	53	25in order for a hardship waiver to be granted.
54	54	26 (d) The division shall promulgate regulations incorporating these criteria for
55	55	27consideration of an undue hardship waiver request.