Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB0712 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2		-	SENATE BILL 1178
3		-	By Akbari
	2	+	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
4	3
5	4		HOUSE BILL 712
6	5		By Hale
7	6
8	7
9	8		HB0712
10	9		002413
11	10		- 1 -
12	11
13	12		AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 52
14	13		and Title 71, relative to family caregiving.
15	14
16	15		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	16		SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 52, Chapter 2, Part 10, is amended by
18	17		adding the following as a new section:
19	18		(a) The commissioner shall develop guidelines for service providers for hiring a
20	19		qualified family member as a family care giver. The guidelines must be:
21	20		(1) Disseminated to medicaid-participating service provider agencies
22	21		annually; and
23	22		(2) Published on the department's website.
24	23		(b) The department shall not:
25	24		(1) Prohibit otherwise qualified individuals from employment as a family
26	25		care giver at a service provider agency based on:
27	26		(A) A family relation between a family care giver and individual
28	27		with a disability receiving services;
29	28		(B) Place of residence of the family care giver or individual with a
30	29		disability receiving services;
31	30		(C) The age of the individual with a disability receiving services;
32	31		(D) The parental or spousal relationship between the family care
33	32		giver and the individual with a disability receiving services;
	33	+	(E) The guardianship or conservatorship status of the family care
	34	+	giver unless explicitly prohibited in guardianship or conservatorship
	35	+	documents;
34	36
35	37
36	38		- 2 - 002413
37	39
38		-	(E) The guardianship or conservatorship status of the family care
39		-	giver unless explicitly prohibited in guardianship or conservatorship
40		-	documents;
41	40		(F) The waiver program in which the individual with a disability
42	41		receiving services is enrolled or participating which includes all waiver
43	42		programs operating under the division of TennCare and waiver authorities
44	43		granted by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services
45	44		including:
46	45		(i) Employment and community first choices;
47	46		(ii) Choices;
48	47		(iii) The Katie Beckett program;
49	48		(iv) The self-determination waiver;
50	49		(v) The comprehensive aggregate cap waiver; and
51	50		(vi) The statewide waiver; and
52	51		(G) The separate and additional employment of an unrelated care
53	52		giver also providing services to an individual with a disability through
54	53		employment with a medicaid-participating service provider agency;
55	54		(2) Prevent or dissuade medicaid-participating service provider agencies
56	55		from hiring family care givers to provide long-term services and support or home
57	56		and community based services to an individual with a disability receiving
58	57		services; or
59	58		(3) Reduce or otherwise alter the type or extent of benefits granted to an
60	59		individual with a disability based on the familial status of the individual providing
61	60		the services without engaging in the person-centered planning process.
	61	+	(c) A family care giver shall not be compensated for care provided in excess of
	62	+	the amount of long-term supports and services or home and community based services
	63	+	or benefits designated to an individual with a disability within the person receiving
	64	+	support's person-centered practice.
62	65
63	66
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65	68
66		-	(c) A family care giver shall not be compensated for care provided in excess of
67		-	the amount of long-term supports and services or home and community based services
68		-	or benefits designated to an individual with a disability within the person receiving
69		-	support's person-centered practice.
70	69		SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 5, Part 1, is amended by
71	70		adding the following as a new section:
72	71		(a) The director of TennCare shall develop guidelines for providers for hiring a
73	72		qualified family member as a family care giver. The guidelines must be:
74	73		(1) Disseminated to medicaid-participating provider agencies annually;
75	74		and
76	75		(2) Published on the bureau of TennCare's website.
77	76		(b) The bureau of TennCare, and any provider that delivers TennCare services
78	77		under contract with the bureau, shall not:
79	78		(1) Prohibit otherwise qualified individuals from employment as a family
80	79		care giver at a provider agency based on:
81	80		(A) A family relation between a family care giver and individual
82	81		with a disability receiving services;
83	82		(B) Place of residence of the family care giver or individual with a
84	83		disability receiving services;
85	84		(C) The age of the individual with a disability receiving services;
86	85		(D) The parental or spousal relationship between the family care
87	86		giver and the individual with a disability receiving services;
88	87		(E) The guardianship or conservatorship status of the family care
89	88		giver unless explicitly prohibited in guardianship or conservatorship
90	89		documents;
	90	+	(F) The waiver program in which the individual with a disability
	91	+	receiving services is enrolled or participating which includes all waiver
	92	+	programs operating in this state under the bureau of TennCare and
91	93
92	94
93	95		- 4 - 002413
94	96
95		-	(F) The waiver program in which the individual with a disability
96		-	receiving services is enrolled or participating which includes all waiver
97		-	programs operating in this state under the bureau of TennCare and
98	97		waiver authorities granted by the federal centers for medicare and
99	98		medicaid services, including:
100	99		(i) Employment and community first choices;
101	100		(ii) Choices;
102	101		(iii) The Katie Beckett program;
103	102		(iv) The self-determination waiver;
104	103		(v) The comprehensive aggregate cap waiver; and
105	104		(vi) The statewide waiver; and
106	105		(G) The separate and additional employment of an unrelated care
107	106		giver also providing services to an individual with a disability through
108	107		employment with a medicaid-participating provider agency;
109	108		(2) Prevent or dissuade medicaid-participating provider agencies from
110	109		hiring family care givers to provide long-term services and support or home and
111	110		community based services to an individual with a disability receiving services;
112	111		and
113	112		(3) Reduce or otherwise alter the type or extent of benefits granted to an
114	113		individual with a disability based on the familial status of the individual providing
115	114		the services without engaging in the person-centered planning process.
116	115		(c) A family care giver shall not be compensated for care provided in excess of
117	116		the amount of long-term services and supports or home and community based services
118	117		or benefits designated to an individual with a disability within the person receiving
119	118		support's person-centered practice.
	119	+	SECTION 3. The department of disability and aging and the director of TennCare are
	120	+	authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this act. The rules must be promulgated in
	121	+	accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
120	122
121	123
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123	125
124		-	SECTION 3. The department of disability and aging and the director of TennCare are
125		-	authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this act. The rules must be promulgated in
126		-	accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
127	126		SECTION 4. For the purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon
128	127		becoming law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1,
129	128		2025, the public welfare requiring it.