HF 1255

as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 01:46am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; modifying MFIP eligibility; modifying GA eligibility;
eliminating general assistance medical care and MinnesotaCare eligibility for
persons convicted of crimes of violence; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008,
sections 256D.024, by adding a subdivision; 256D.03, subdivision 3; 256J.26, by
adding a subdivision; 256L.04, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 256D.024, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Persons convicted of crimes of violence. new text end

new text begin An individual convicted of a
crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5, or as defined under the
laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed, is disqualified from receiving
general assistance.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 256D.03, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

General assistance medical care; eligibility.

(a) General assistance
medical care may be paid for any person who is not eligible for medical assistance under
chapter 256B, including eligibility for medical assistance based on a spenddown of excess
income according to section 256B.056, subdivision 5, or MinnesotaCare as defined in
paragraph (b), except as provided in paragraph (c), and:

(1) who is receiving assistance under section 256D.05, except for families with
children who are eligible under Minnesota family investment program (MFIP), or who is
having a payment made on the person's behalf under sections 256I.01 to 256I.06; or

(2) who is a resident of Minnesota; and

(i) who has gross countable income not in excess of 75 percent of the federal poverty
guidelines for the family size, using a six-month budget period and whose equity in assets
is not in excess of $1,000 per assistance unit. General assistance medical care is not
available for applicants or enrollees who are otherwise eligible for medical assistance but
fail to verify their assets. Enrollees who become eligible for medical assistance shall be
terminated and transferred to medical assistance. Exempt assets, the reduction of excess
assets, and the waiver of excess assets must conform to the medical assistance program in
section 256B.056, subdivisions 3 and 3d, with the following exception: the maximum
amount of undistributed funds in a trust that could be distributed to or on behalf of the
beneficiary by the trustee, assuming the full exercise of the trustee's discretion under the
terms of the trust, must be applied toward the asset maximum;

(ii) who has gross countable income above 75 percent of the federal poverty
guidelines but not in excess of 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the
family size, using a six-month budget period, whose equity in assets is not in excess
of the limits in section 256B.056, subdivision 3c, and who applies during an inpatient
hospitalization; or

(iii) the commissioner shall adjust the income standards under this section each July
1 by the annual update of the federal poverty guidelines following publication by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services.

(b) Effective for applications and renewals processed on or after September 1, 2006,
general assistance medical care may not be paid for applicants or recipients who are adults
with dependent children under 21 whose gross family income is equal to or less than 275
percent of the federal poverty guidelines who are not described in paragraph (e).

(c) Effective for applications and renewals processed on or after September 1, 2006,
general assistance medical care may be paid for applicants and recipients who meet all
eligibility requirements of paragraph (a), clause (2), item (i), for a temporary period
beginning the date of application. Immediately following approval of general assistance
medical care, enrollees shall be enrolled in MinnesotaCare under section 256L.04,
subdivision 7, with covered services as provided in section 256L.03 for the rest of the
six-month general assistance medical care eligibility period, until their six-month renewal.

(d) To be eligible for general assistance medical care following enrollment in
MinnesotaCare as required by paragraph (c), an individual must complete a new
application.

(e) Applicants and recipients eligible under paragraph (a), clause (1), are exempt
from the MinnesotaCare enrollment requirements in this subdivision if they:

(1) have applied for and are awaiting a determination of blindness or disability by
the state medical review team or a determination of eligibility for Supplemental Security
Income or Social Security Disability Insurance by the Social Security Administration;

(2) fail to meet the requirements of section 256L.09, subdivision 2;

(3) are homeless as defined by United States Code, title 42, section 11301, et seq.;

(4) are classified as end-stage renal disease beneficiaries in the Medicare program;

(5) are enrolled in private health care coverage as defined in section 256B.02,
subdivision 9;

(6) are eligible under paragraph (j);

(7) receive treatment funded pursuant to section 254B.02; or

(8) reside in the Minnesota sex offender program defined in chapter 246B.

(f) For applications received on or after October 1, 2003, eligibility may begin no
earlier than the date of application. For individuals eligible under paragraph (a), clause
(2), item (i), a redetermination of eligibility must occur every 12 months. Individuals are
eligible under paragraph (a), clause (2), item (ii), only during inpatient hospitalization but
may reapply if there is a subsequent period of inpatient hospitalization.

(g) Beginning September 1, 2006, Minnesota health care program applications and
renewals completed by recipients and applicants who are persons described in paragraph
(c) and submitted to the county agency shall be determined for MinnesotaCare eligibility
by the county agency. If all other eligibility requirements of this subdivision are met,
eligibility for general assistance medical care shall be available in any month during which
MinnesotaCare enrollment is pending. Upon notification of eligibility for MinnesotaCare,
notice of termination for eligibility for general assistance medical care shall be sent to
an applicant or recipient. If all other eligibility requirements of this subdivision are
met, eligibility for general assistance medical care shall be available until enrollment in
MinnesotaCare subject to the provisions of paragraphs (c), (e), and (f).

(h) The date of an initial Minnesota health care program application necessary to
begin a determination of eligibility shall be the date the applicant has provided a name,
address, and Social Security number, signed and dated, to the county agency or the
Department of Human Services. If the applicant is unable to provide a name, address,
Social Security number, and signature when health care is delivered due to a medical
condition or disability, a health care provider may act on an applicant's behalf to establish
the date of an initial Minnesota health care program application by providing the county
agency or Department of Human Services with provider identification and a temporary
unique identifier for the applicant. The applicant must complete the remainder of the
application and provide necessary verification before eligibility can be determined. The
county agency must assist the applicant in obtaining verification if necessary.

(i) County agencies are authorized to use all automated databases containing
information regarding recipients' or applicants' income in order to determine eligibility for
general assistance medical care or MinnesotaCare. Such use shall be considered sufficient
in order to determine eligibility and premium payments by the county agency.

(j) General assistance medical care is not available for a person in a correctional
facility unless the person is detained by law for less than one year in a county correctional
or detention facility as a person accused or convicted of a crime, or admitted as an
inpatient to a hospital on a criminal hold order, and the person is a recipient of general
assistance medical care at the time the person is detained by law or admitted on a criminal
hold order and as long as the person continues to meet other eligibility requirements
of this subdivision.

(k) General assistance medical care is not available for applicants or recipients who
do not cooperate with the county agency to meet the requirements of medical assistance.

(l) In determining the amount of assets of an individual eligible under paragraph
(a), clause (2), item (i), there shall be included any asset or interest in an asset, including
an asset excluded under paragraph (a), that was given away, sold, or disposed of for
less than fair market value within the 60 months preceding application for general
assistance medical care or during the period of eligibility. Any transfer described in this
paragraph shall be presumed to have been for the purpose of establishing eligibility for
general assistance medical care, unless the individual furnishes convincing evidence to
establish that the transaction was exclusively for another purpose. For purposes of this
paragraph, the value of the asset or interest shall be the fair market value at the time it
was given away, sold, or disposed of, less the amount of compensation received. For any
uncompensated transfer, the number of months of ineligibility, including partial months,
shall be calculated by dividing the uncompensated transfer amount by the average monthly
per person payment made by the medical assistance program to skilled nursing facilities
for the previous calendar year. The individual shall remain ineligible until this fixed period
has expired. The period of ineligibility may exceed 30 months, and a reapplication for
benefits after 30 months from the date of the transfer shall not result in eligibility unless
and until the period of ineligibility has expired. The period of ineligibility begins in the
month the transfer was reported to the county agency, or if the transfer was not reported,
the month in which the county agency discovered the transfer, whichever comes first. For
applicants, the period of ineligibility begins on the date of the first approved application.

(m) When determining eligibility for any state benefits under this subdivision,
the income and resources of all noncitizens shall be deemed to include their sponsor's
income and resources as defined in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996, title IV, Public Law 104-193, sections 421 and 422, and
subsequently set out in federal rules.

(n) Undocumented noncitizens and nonimmigrants are ineligible for general
assistance medical care. For purposes of this subdivision, a nonimmigrant is an individual
in one or more of the classes listed in United States Code, title 8, section 1101(a)(15), and
an undocumented noncitizen is an individual who resides in the United States without the
approval or acquiescence of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

(o) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a noncitizen who is ineligible for
medical assistance due to the deeming of a sponsor's income and resources, is ineligible
for general assistance medical care.

(p) Effective July 1, 2003, general assistance medical care emergency services end.

new text begin (q) An individual convicted of a crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712,
subdivision 5, or as defined under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime was
committed, is not eligible for general assistance medical care.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2009.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 256J.26, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Persons convicted of crimes of violence. new text end

new text begin An individual convicted of a
crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5, or as defined under the laws
of the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed, is disqualified from receiving MFIP.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 256L.04, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 14. new text end

new text begin Persons convicted of crimes of violence. new text end

new text begin An individual convicted of a
crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5, or as defined under the
laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed, who is or would be covered
under subdivision 7, is not eligible for MinnesotaCare.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2009.
new text end