1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; providing general 
  1.3             assistance medical care coverage for victims of 
  1.4             torture; amending Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, 
  1.5             section 256D.03, subdivision 3. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.8   256D.03, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3.  [GENERAL ASSISTANCE MEDICAL CARE; ELIGIBILITY.] 
  1.10  (a) General assistance medical care may be paid for any person 
  1.11  who is not eligible for medical assistance under chapter 256B, 
  1.12  including eligibility for medical assistance based on a 
  1.13  spenddown of excess income according to section 256B.056, 
  1.14  subdivision 5, or MinnesotaCare as defined in clause (4) (5), 
  1.15  except as provided in paragraph (b); and: 
  1.16     (1) who is receiving assistance under section 256D.05, 
  1.17  except for families with children who are eligible under 
  1.18  Minnesota family investment program-statewide (MFIP-S), who is 
  1.19  having a payment made on the person's behalf under sections 
  1.20  256I.01 to 256I.06, or who resides in group residential housing 
  1.21  as defined in chapter 256I and can meet a spenddown using the 
  1.22  cost of remedial services received through group residential 
  1.23  housing; or 
  1.24     (2)(i) who is a resident of Minnesota; and whose equity in 
  1.25  assets is not in excess of $1,000 per assistance unit.  Exempt 
  2.1   assets, the reduction of excess assets, and the waiver of excess 
  2.2   assets must conform to the medical assistance program in chapter 
  2.3   256B, with the following exception:  the maximum amount of 
  2.4   undistributed funds in a trust that could be distributed to or 
  2.5   on behalf of the beneficiary by the trustee, assuming the full 
  2.6   exercise of the trustee's discretion under the terms of the 
  2.7   trust, must be applied toward the asset maximum; and 
  2.8      (ii) who has countable income not in excess of the 
  2.9   assistance standards established in section 256B.056, 
  2.10  subdivision 4, or whose excess income is spent down according to 
  2.11  section 256B.056, subdivision 5, using a six-month budget 
  2.12  period.  The method for calculating earned income disregards and 
  2.13  deductions for a person who resides with a dependent child under 
  2.14  age 21 shall follow section 256B.056, subdivision 1a.  However, 
  2.15  if a disregard of $30 and one-third of the remainder has been 
  2.16  applied to the wage earner's income, the disregard shall not be 
  2.17  applied again until the wage earner's income has not been 
  2.18  considered in an eligibility determination for general 
  2.19  assistance, general assistance medical care, medical assistance, 
  2.20  or MFIP-S for 12 consecutive months.  The earned income and work 
  2.21  expense deductions for a person who does not reside with a 
  2.22  dependent child under age 21 shall be the same as the method 
  2.23  used to determine eligibility for a person under section 
  2.24  256D.06, subdivision 1, except the disregard of the first $50 of 
  2.25  earned income is not allowed; or 
  2.26     (3) who would be eligible for medical assistance except 
  2.27  that the person resides in a facility that is determined by the 
  2.28  commissioner or the federal Health Care Financing Administration 
  2.29  to be an institution for mental diseases; or 
  2.30     (4) who is receiving care and rehabilitation services from 
  2.31  a nonprofit center established to serve victims of torture.  
  2.32  These individuals are eligible for general assistance medical 
  2.33  care only for the period during which they are receiving 
  2.34  services from the center.  During this period of eligibility, 
  2.35  individuals eligible under this clause shall not be required to 
  2.36  participate in prepaid general assistance medical care. 
  3.1      (5) Beginning July 1, 1998, applicants or recipients who 
  3.2   meet all eligibility requirements of MinnesotaCare as defined in 
  3.3   sections 256L.01 to 256L.16, and are: 
  3.4      (i) adults with dependent children under 21 whose gross 
  3.5   family income is equal to or less than 275 percent of the 
  3.6   federal poverty guidelines; or 
  3.7      (ii) adults without children with earned income and whose 
  3.8   family gross income is between 75 percent of the federal poverty 
  3.9   guidelines and the amount set by section 256L.04, subdivision 7, 
  3.10  shall be terminated from general assistance medical care upon 
  3.11  enrollment in MinnesotaCare. 
  3.12     (b) For services rendered on or after July 1, 1997, 
  3.13  eligibility is limited to one month prior to application if the 
  3.14  person is determined eligible in the prior month.  A 
  3.15  redetermination of eligibility must occur every 12 months.  
  3.16  Beginning July 1, 1998, Minnesota health care program 
  3.17  applications completed by recipients and applicants who are 
  3.18  persons described in paragraph (a), clause (4) (5), may be 
  3.19  returned to the county agency to be forwarded to the department 
  3.20  of human services or sent directly to the department of human 
  3.21  services for enrollment in MinnesotaCare.  If all other 
  3.22  eligibility requirements of this subdivision are met, 
  3.23  eligibility for general assistance medical care shall be 
  3.24  available in any month during which a MinnesotaCare eligibility 
  3.25  determination and enrollment are pending.  Upon notification of 
  3.26  eligibility for MinnesotaCare, notice of termination for 
  3.27  eligibility for general assistance medical care shall be sent to 
  3.28  an applicant or recipient.  If all other eligibility 
  3.29  requirements of this subdivision are met, eligibility for 
  3.30  general assistance medical care shall be available until 
  3.31  enrollment in MinnesotaCare subject to the provisions of 
  3.32  paragraph (d). 
  3.33     (c) The date of an initial Minnesota health care program 
  3.34  application necessary to begin a determination of eligibility 
  3.35  shall be the date the applicant has provided a name, address, 
  3.36  and social security number, signed and dated, to the county 
  4.1   agency or the department of human services.  If the applicant is 
  4.2   unable to provide an initial application when health care is 
  4.3   delivered due to a medical condition or disability, a health 
  4.4   care provider may act on the person's behalf to complete the 
  4.5   initial application.  The applicant must complete the remainder 
  4.6   of the application and provide necessary verification before 
  4.7   eligibility can be determined.  The county agency must assist 
  4.8   the applicant in obtaining verification if necessary. 
  4.9      (d) County agencies are authorized to use all automated 
  4.10  databases containing information regarding recipients' or 
  4.11  applicants' income in order to determine eligibility for general 
  4.12  assistance medical care or MinnesotaCare.  Such use shall be 
  4.13  considered sufficient in order to determine eligibility and 
  4.14  premium payments by the county agency. 
  4.15     (e) General assistance medical care is not available for a 
  4.16  person in a correctional facility unless the person is detained 
  4.17  by law for less than one year in a county correctional or 
  4.18  detention facility as a person accused or convicted of a crime, 
  4.19  or admitted as an inpatient to a hospital on a criminal hold 
  4.20  order, and the person is a recipient of general assistance 
  4.21  medical care at the time the person is detained by law or 
  4.22  admitted on a criminal hold order and as long as the person 
  4.23  continues to meet other eligibility requirements of this 
  4.24  subdivision.  
  4.25     (f) General assistance medical care is not available for 
  4.26  applicants or recipients who do not cooperate with the county 
  4.27  agency to meet the requirements of medical assistance.  General 
  4.28  assistance medical care is limited to payment of emergency 
  4.29  services only for applicants or recipients as described in 
  4.30  paragraph (a), clause (4) (5), whose MinnesotaCare coverage is 
  4.31  denied or terminated for nonpayment of premiums as required by 
  4.32  sections 256L.06 to 256L.08.  
  4.33     (g) In determining the amount of assets of an individual, 
  4.34  there shall be included any asset or interest in an asset, 
  4.35  including an asset excluded under paragraph (a), that was given 
  4.36  away, sold, or disposed of for less than fair market value 
  5.1   within the 60 months preceding application for general 
  5.2   assistance medical care or during the period of eligibility.  
  5.3   Any transfer described in this paragraph shall be presumed to 
  5.4   have been for the purpose of establishing eligibility for 
  5.5   general assistance medical care, unless the individual furnishes 
  5.6   convincing evidence to establish that the transaction was 
  5.7   exclusively for another purpose.  For purposes of this 
  5.8   paragraph, the value of the asset or interest shall be the fair 
  5.9   market value at the time it was given away, sold, or disposed 
  5.10  of, less the amount of compensation received.  For any 
  5.11  uncompensated transfer, the number of months of ineligibility, 
  5.12  including partial months, shall be calculated by dividing the 
  5.13  uncompensated transfer amount by the average monthly per person 
  5.14  payment made by the medical assistance program to skilled 
  5.15  nursing facilities for the previous calendar year.  The 
  5.16  individual shall remain ineligible until this fixed period has 
  5.17  expired.  The period of ineligibility may exceed 30 months, and 
  5.18  a reapplication for benefits after 30 months from the date of 
  5.19  the transfer shall not result in eligibility unless and until 
  5.20  the period of ineligibility has expired.  The period of 
  5.21  ineligibility begins in the month the transfer was reported to 
  5.22  the county agency, or if the transfer was not reported, the 
  5.23  month in which the county agency discovered the transfer, 
  5.24  whichever comes first.  For applicants, the period of 
  5.25  ineligibility begins on the date of the first approved 
  5.26  application. 
  5.27     (h) When determining eligibility for any state benefits 
  5.28  under this subdivision, the income and resources of all 
  5.29  noncitizens shall be deemed to include their sponsor's income 
  5.30  and resources as defined in the Personal Responsibility and Work 
  5.31  Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, title IV, Public Law 
  5.32  Number 104-193, sections 421 and 422, and subsequently set out 
  5.33  in federal rules. 
  5.34     (i)(1) An undocumented noncitizen or a nonimmigrant is 
  5.35  ineligible for general assistance medical care other than 
  5.36  emergency services.  For purposes of this subdivision, a 
  6.1   nonimmigrant is an individual in one or more of the classes 
  6.2   listed in United States Code, title 8, section 1101(a)(15), and 
  6.3   an undocumented noncitizen is an individual who resides in the 
  6.4   United States without the approval or acquiescence of the 
  6.5   Immigration and Naturalization Service. 
  6.6      (j) (2) This paragraph does not apply to a child under age 
  6.7   18, to a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in Public Law 
  6.8   Number 96-422, section 501(e)(1) or (2)(a), or to a noncitizen 
  6.9   who is aged, blind, or disabled as defined in Code of Federal 
  6.10  Regulations, title 42, sections 435.520, 435.530, 435.531, 
  6.11  435.540, and 435.541, or to an individual eligible for general 
  6.12  assistance medical care under paragraph (a), clause (4), who 
  6.13  cooperates with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to 
  6.14  pursue any applicable immigration status, including citizenship, 
  6.15  that would qualify the individual for medical assistance with 
  6.16  federal financial participation. 
  6.17     (k) (3) For purposes of paragraphs (f) and (i) this 
  6.18  paragraph, "emergency services" has the meaning given in Code of 
  6.19  Federal Regulations, title 42, section 440.255(b)(1), except 
  6.20  that it also means services rendered because of suspected or 
  6.21  actual pesticide poisoning. 
  6.22     (l) (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
  6.23  noncitizen who is ineligible for medical assistance due to the 
  6.24  deeming of a sponsor's income and resources, is ineligible for 
  6.25  general assistance medical care.