Legislative Session number- 81

Bill Name: SF0288

Providing for the elimination of the waiting list for home and community based
waivered services for persons with mental retardation or related conditions and
for the family support program by a certain date, gradually increasing funding
under medical assistance (MA) for the services during the interim period;
requiring the commissioner of human services to monitor county use of allocated
resources for maximization purposes, requiring reassignment of unused resources,
specifying certain reassignment priority consideration requirements, requiring
annual reports to the legislature; requiring the commissioner to distribute new
funding for the services to counties forming joint partnerships, specifying
eligibility requirements; requiring commissioner assignment of planning and
management responsibilities for waivered service funds to qualified nonprofit
entities for certain other counties; specifying certain plan requirements;
requiring the commissioner to by a certain date submit to the federal health
care financing administration a request to amend the home and community based
waiver to allow more flexibility in meeting the needs of eligible persons,
specifying certain waiver request content requirements and requiring program
evaluation upon approval and implementation; authorizing certain counties to
develop reserve accounts to meet crises and other unmet needs of waivered
services recipients; appropriating money to the commissioner for increased home
and community based waivered and semi-independent living services and family
support grants for persons with mental retardation and related conditions, for
reimbursement to counties and nonprofit entities for administrative costs and
for technical assistance to counties to improve waivered services program
management (mk)