HF 572

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; changing mental health provisions for inmates;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 245.462, subdivision 20; 256D.03,
subdivision 3.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 245.462, subdivision 20, is amended to
read:

Subd. 20.

Mental illness.

(a) "Mental illness" means an organic disorder of the
brain or a clinically significant disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation,
memory, or behavior that is listed in the clinical manual of the International Classification
of Diseases (ICD-9-CM), current edition, code range 290.0 to 302.99 or 306.0 to 316.0
or the corresponding code in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-MD), current edition, Axes I, II, or III, and
that seriously limits a person's capacity to function in primary aspects of daily living such
as personal relations, living arrangements, work, and recreation.

(b) An "adult with acute mental illness" means an adult who has a mental illness that
is serious enough to require prompt intervention.

(c) For purposes of case management and community support services, a "person
with serious and persistent mental illness" means an adult who has a mental illness and
meets at least one of the following criteria:

(1) the adult has undergone two or more episodes of inpatient care for a mental
illness within the preceding 24 months;

(2) the adult has experienced a continuous psychiatric hospitalization or residential
treatment exceeding six months' duration within the preceding 12 months;

(3) new text begin the adult has been an inmate at a jail or county regional jail or a prisoner at a
correctional facility two or more times within the preceding 24 months;
new text end

new text begin (4) the adult has experienced continuous confinement in a jail, county regional jail,
or correctional facility for more than six months' duration within the preceding 12 months;
new text end

new text begin (5) the adult has been treated by a crisis team two or more times within the preceding
24 months;
new text end

new text begin (6) new text end the adult:

(i) has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, or borderline
personality disorder;

(ii) indicates a significant impairment in functioning; and

(iii) has a written opinion from a mental health professional, in the last three years,
stating that the adult is reasonably likely to have future episodes requiring inpatient or
residential treatment, of a frequency described in clause (1) or (2), unless ongoing case
management or community support services are provided;

deleted text begin (4) deleted text end new text begin (7) new text end the adult has, in the last three years, been committed by a court as a person
who is mentally ill under chapter 253B, or the adult's commitment has been stayed or
continued; or

deleted text begin (5) deleted text end new text begin (8) new text end the adult (i) was eligible under clauses (1) to deleted text begin (4) deleted text end new text begin (7) new text end , but the specified time
period has expired or the adult was eligible as a child under section 245.4871, subdivision
6; and (ii) has a written opinion from a mental health professional, in the last three years,
stating that the adult is reasonably likely to have future episodes requiring inpatient or
residential treatment, of a frequency described in clause (1) or (2), unless ongoing case
management or community support services are provided.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, 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, subdivision 3, 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 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); who 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; who fail to meet the
requirements of section 256L.09, subdivision 2; who are classified as end-stage renal
disease beneficiaries in the Medicare program; who are enrolled in private health care
coverage as defined in section 256B.02, subdivision 9; who are eligible under paragraph
(j); or who receive treatment funded pursuant to section 254B.02 are exempt from the
MinnesotaCare enrollment requirements of this subdivision.

(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 Immigration and Naturalization Service.

(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) Effective July 1, 2007, individuals in a correctional facility who have been
diagnosed with a mental illness as defined in section 245.462, subdivision 20, are
eligible for general assistance medical care for three months from the date of release
from confinement.
new text end