By: Frank H.B. No. 3720
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to interest lists and eligibility criteria for certain
Medicaid waiver programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 531.0605 and 531.0606 to read as
follows:
Sec. 531.0605. INTEREST LISTS FOR CERTAIN MEDICAID WAIVER
PROGRAMS. (a) This section applies to interest lists in the
following Medicaid waiver programs:
(1) the community living assistance and support
services (CLASS) waiver program;
(2) the home and community-based services (HCS) waiver
program;
(3) the deaf-blind with multiple disabilities (DBMD)
waiver program;
(4) the Texas home living (TxHmL) waiver program;
(5) the medically dependent children (MDCP) waiver
program; and
(6) the STAR + PLUS home and community-based services
and supports (STAR + PLUS HCBS) program.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the Intellectual
and Developmental Disability System Redesign Advisory Committee
established under Section 534.053, the State Medicaid Managed Care
Advisory Committee established under Section 531.012, and other
interested stakeholders, shall develop a questionnaire for
individuals who are on an interest list for any Medicaid waiver
program.
(c) The questionnaire described in Subsection (b) must
capture, at a minimum, the following information:
(1) general demographic and contact information;
(2) the types of assistance the individual needs;
(3) the individual's living arrangement;
(4) caregiver supports and any risks to caregiver
supports; and
(5) when delivery of the services should begin to
ensure the individual's health and welfare in the least restrictive
setting possible.
(d) Beginning no later than September 1, 2024, and subject
to the availability of funds, the commission shall require all
individuals on an interest list to complete or update the
questionnaire described in Subsection (b) on an annual basis.
(e) For an individual on an interest list who does not
respond to written or verbal requests for annual or biennial
updates to interest list information or otherwise fails to maintain
contact with the commission:
(1) the commission shall consider the individual
inactive and determine which interest list(s) to which the inactive
status will apply until the individual makes contact with the
commission and indicates he or she is still interested in waiver
program services; and
(2) if the individual status remains inactive for four
years or more, the commission shall not include the individual in
reporting the number of individuals on any waiver program interest
list to which the inactive status for the individual applies.
(f) Individuals who are eligible to receive Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) (42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.) and are on
the interest list for the MDCP waiver program as of September 1,
2021, shall be assessed by the commission for waiver program
eligibility as soon as possible.
(g) After September 1, 2021, individuals who receive
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.)
and express an interest in receiving MDCP waiver program services
shall be assessed by the commission for waiver program eligibility
without first being placed on the MDCP waiver program interest
list.
(h) The commission shall explore the feasibility of
creating an online portal for individuals to request placement on
an interest list and to complete and update the questionnaire
described in Subsection (b).
Sec. 531.0606. ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN MEDICAID WAIVER
PROGRAMS. (a) In determining eligibility criteria for the TxHmL
waiver program, the commission shall:
(1) establish income eligibility levels consistent
with Title XIX of the Social Security Act and any other applicable
law or regulations, so that an individual whose income is at or
below 300 percent of the federal poverty level is eligible for the
program; and
(2) add level of care VIII, as defined by the
commission, to the eligibility criteria for the program.
SECTION 2. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.