HB64 (2009)
(New Title) relative to eligibility for Aid to the Needy Blind.
Status: SENATE: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE (Details)
Length: 490 words.
Revisions of this bill in our system:
| House | Senate | |
|---|---|---|
| Public hearing: | 2009-02-05 13:00:00 LOB 205 | 2009-04-07 00:00:00 |
| Executive session: | 2009-03-03 13:00:00 | (unscheduled) |
| Floor vote: | 2009-03-11 00:00:00 | 2009-04-22 00:00:00 |
HB 64-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
11Mar2009… 0541h
2009 SESSION
05/01
HOUSE BILL 64-FN
AN ACT relative to eligibility for Aid to the Needy Blind.
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill:
I. Directs the department of health and human services to adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to deeming parental income of new applicants for Aid to the Needy Blind who are under 18 years of age.
II. Requires the department to review current program participation to determine the effect the change in financial eligibility would have on current participants and to determine their eligibility for alternative Medicaid eligibility category.
III. Requests that the department submit a report to the legislature on its assessment of the Aid to the Needy Blind program.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11Mar2009… 0541h
09-0172
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to eligibility for Aid to the Needy Blind.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Rulemaking; Methodology for Determining Eligibility for Aid to the Needy Blind.
I. The department of health and human services shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A to utilize the Social Security Income methodology which deems parental income in determining financial eligibility for any new applicants under the age of 18 for Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB). The new methodology adopted pursuant to this section shall take effect on July 1, 2010 and shall apply only to applicants who apply to the program on or after July 1, 2010.
II. With the exception of the change required under paragraph I, the department shall not change the eligibility requirements or income methodologies, including any application of parental deeming of income in determining eligibility for current ANB recipients under the age of 18.
2 Review of ANB Program. No later than September 30, 2009, the department of health and human services shall determine whether each current recipient of ANB who is under the age of 18 would lose Medicaid eligibility if parental deeming were applied and whether the recipient is eligible for Medicaid under any other alternative Medicaid eligibility category. In complying with this section, the department shall work with each recipient and his or her family to determine the recipient’s Medicaid eligibility under ANB if parental deeming applied and the recipient’s eligibility for Medicaid through alternative Medicaid eligibility categories, other than ANB.
3 Legislative Report on ANB Program. On or before November 1, 2009, the department of health and human services shall submit a report to the chairperson of the house health and human services and elderly affairs committee, the chairperson of the senate health and human services committee, and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate which shall:
I. Detail the department’s findings under section 2 of this act.
II. Identify the number of current ANB recipients under the age of 18 who would be eligible for Medicaid under an alternative Medicaid eligibility category and the number that would not be so eligible.
III. Identify the number of current ANB recipients who would lose Medicaid eligibility if parental deeming as implemented in the Social Security Income program were used to determine ANB eligibility and who would not be eligible for Medicaid under an alternative program.
IV. Calculate, based on each recipient’s past Medicaid expenditure data, the total annual Medicaid costs of current ANB recipients who would be ineligible for ANB if parental deeming methodologies were applied and who would not be eligible under any alternative Medicaid eligibility category.
V. Detail the amount of any additional costs that would be incurred by an ANB recipient as a result of receiving Medicaid through an alternative Medicaid eligibility category, other than ANB, including but not limited to estimated spend down amounts required for the current ANB recipient to obtain Medicaid through an alternative program.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
09-0172
Amended 04/06/09
HB 64 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to eligibility for Aid to the Needy Blind.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment # 2009-0541h), would increase state general fund expenditures by $2,143,260 in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. This bill would have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue, or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Health and Human Services states the Aid for the Needy Blind (ANB) program is a pathway to Medicaid as well as a financial assistance grant to eligible individuals. This bill would freeze income eligibility for the ANB program preserving the income eligibility for current ANB recipients who are under age 18. Where the bill freezes the financial eligibility for ANB, there will be no financial assistance caseload reduction, and no state general fund savings for these payments. The Department states the approximately 90 “grandfathered” enrollees’ Medicaid claims would not be eligible for federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) since the division of the population is not permitted under federal Medicaid law, and payment of those claims would require 100% state general fund dollars. The per member per month cost (PMPM) for medical assistance for ANB recipients age 18 and under is approximately $3,969, with annual expenditures for this group of $4,286,520. Presently 50% of this amount is paid with federal funds which will no longer be available if the bill passes, and would result in an increase in state general fund expenditures of $2,143,260 ($4,286,520 X 50%). The Department states as the present under 18 ANB enrollees age, the state general fund expenditures for both financial and medical assistance will decrease.