Bill Text: MS HB379 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: DHS; require to provide information to kinship caregivers regarding public assistance benefits.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2017-01-31 - Died In Committee [HB379 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-HB379-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Dixon
House Bill 379
AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 43-15-18, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO PROVIDE A SEPARATE LINK OR PORTAL ON ITS WEBSITE PROVIDING KINSHIP CAREGIVERS WITH INFORMATION AND ACCESS NECESSARY TO APPLY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BENEFITS; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 43-13-117.5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN DEPENDENTS OF A MILITARY SERVICE MEMBER SHALL MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS; TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION TO REQUEST A WAIVER IF NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THAT PROVISION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 43-15-18, Mississippi Code of 1972:
43-15-18. (1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) "Basic necessities" means water, electricity, gas, power, light, heat, telephone or other public utility services.
(b) "Child" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age.
(c) "Kinship caregiver" means a grandparent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle, cousin, sibling, or close family friend of a child who has assumed responsibility for raising the child in an informal, noncustodial, or guardianship capacity upon the parents of the child losing or abdicating the ability to care for or provide basic necessities for such child.
(d) "Parents" means the legal father and the legal mother of a child.
(2) The Department of Human Services shall provide a separate link or portal on its website that provides access to social services that are specific to kinship caregivers and the children in their care. The link or portal shall provide specific information and access for applying for public assistance benefits in this state as a kinship caregiver and on behalf of children in the care of a kinship caregiver.
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 43-13-117.5, Mississippi Code of 1972:
43-13-117.5. (1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) "Dependent" means a spouse, birth child, adopted child, or stepchild of a military service member.
(b) "Legal resident" means a person who maintains Mississippi as his or her principal establishment, home of record, or permanent home and to where, whenever absent due to military obligation, he or she intends to return.
(c) "Military service" means service in the Armed Forces or Armed Forces Reserves of the United States, or membership in the Mississippi National Guard.
(d) "Military service member" means a person who is currently in military service or who has separated from military service in the previous eighteen (18) months through either retirement or military separation.
(2) The division shall allow legal residents who are dependents of a military service member and who are absent from this state due to the member's military service to be added to a database to indicate the need for medical assistance upon return to this state. If a dependent in such a situation is selected from a database to receive medical assistance, the dependent shall have six (6) months from the date of the selection notification to apply for that assistance and another six (6) months to begin using the assistance. If a dependent is receiving medical assistance funded by the division and the medical assistance is disrupted due to the military service member's need for the dependent to leave Mississippi because of that military service member's military service, the medical assistance shall be resumed upon the dependent's return to Mississippi if the dependent is otherwise eligible. In no case shall payment be made for home- and community-based services provided outside this state. A dependent of a military service member shall be required to provide the division with:
(a) A copy of the military service member's DD-214 or other equivalent discharge paperwork; and
(b) Proof of the military service member's legal residence in this state, as prescribed by the division.
(3) A dependent who is a legal resident of this state, having previously been determined to be eligible for developmental disability services provided by the division, including waiver services provided under the home- and community-based services programs authorized under Section 1915(c) of the federal Social Security Act, shall retain eligibility for those developmental disability services as long as he or she remains a legal resident of this state, regardless of having left this state due to the military service member's military assignment outside this state, as long as he or she is otherwise eligible for those services.
(4) The division shall permit a dependent who resides outside this state to be placed on a waiting list for developmental disabilities services if the dependent left this state due to the military service member's military assignment outside this state, is otherwise eligible for those services, and furnishes:
(a) A copy of the military service member's DD-214 or other equivalent discharge paperwork; and
(b) Proof of the military service member's legal residence in this state, as prescribed by the division.
(5) For dependents who received developmental disability services and who left this state due to the military service member's military assignment outside this state, upon the dependent's return to this state and when a request for services is made, the division shall:
(a) Determine the dependent's eligibility for services, which may include a request for waiver services provided under the home- and community-based services programs authorized under Section 1915(c) of the federal Social Security Act;
(b) Provide to the dependent notification of the determination of eligibility for services, which includes notification of a denial of services if applicable;
(c) Provide the dependent an opportunity to contest the division's determination through the appeals processes established by the division; and
(d) Resume services if the dependent remains eligible.
(6) As a condition of continued eligibility for services under subsection (5) of this section, a dependent must inform the division of his or her current address and provide updates as requested by the division.
(7) No payment shall be made under this section for developmental disability services authorized under this article and provided outside this state unless those services satisfy the conditions specified in 42 CFR Section 431.52. No payment under this section shall be made for home- and community-based services provided outside this state.
(8) The division shall request a waiver from the appropriate federal agency or agencies if a waiver is necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
(9) The division may adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
(10) This section shall only apply to the fullest extent permissible for Mississippi to remain in compliance with all federal laws, rules, and regulations associated with the
services provided in this article.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.
