NY State Senate Bill 2023-S5470

Senate Bill S5470

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Provides for eligibility for medical assistance for personal care services for persons with traumatic brain injury, developmental disability, cognitive impairments, blindness or visual impairment

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to health
Mar 06, 2023	referred to health

co-Sponsors

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2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§365-a & 365-f, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8403
2021-2022: S3055

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for eligibility for medical assistance for personal care services for persons with traumatic brain injury, developmental disability, cognitive impairments, blindness or visual impairment.

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5470

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to eligibility for
medical assistance for personal care services for persons with traumatic
brain injury, cognitive impairments, developmental disabilities, blind-
ness, or  visual impairment

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To clarify that provisions protecting eligibility for personal care at
home, afforded to persons with dementia or Alzheimer's in recently
enacted legislation, extends as well to persons with traumatic brain
injury, cognitive impairments, developmental disabilities, blindness, or
visual impairment.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Sections 1 and 2 amend Social Services Law § 365-a and 365-f, as it
relates to responsibility for medical assistance, to extend that

provision to persons with traumatic brain injury, cognitive impairments,
developmental disabilities, blindness, or visual impairment.

Section 3 provides an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

"Activities of daily living" (ADLs) are understood as eating, bathing,
getting dressed, toileting, mobility, transferring from a laying or
sitting position to standing, and continence care. Until now, whenever a
Medicaid-eligible person has been assessed as requiring assistance with
routine functions, Medicaid provided at least "level one" personal care.
The actual number of hours of this basic level of service was determined
by an individual assessment. It was often not even a daily visit,
instead amounting to usually eight hours a week.  However, this was
enough support to enable individuals to stay in their homes and communi-
ties, avoiding accidents, injury, deteriorating health conditions, and
institutionalization.

The enacted 2020-21 budget limited access to Medicaid personal care to
only those requiring physical assistance with three or more ADLs.  Only
in the case of dementia or Alzheimer's could an applicant avoid the
near-certain diminishing of their health, safety, and ability to remain
at home before Medicaid would come to their aid. It sensibly applies a
lower threshold for people with dementia or Alzheimer's. That lower
threshold should similarly apply to patients with traumatic brain inju-
ry, cognitive impairments, developmental disabilities, blindness, or
visual impairment.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2020: S.8403 Rivera/A.10486 Gottfried

2021-2022: S.3055 Rivera/No same as

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5470
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  RIVERA,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, LIU, MAY, MYRIE,
   SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when  printed  to  be
   committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN  ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to eligibility for
   medical assistance for personal care services for persons  with  trau-
   matic brain injury, cognitive impairments, developmental disabilities,
   blindness, or  visual impairment
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph (v) of  paragraph  (e)  of  subdivision  2  of
 section  365-a  of  the  social services law, as added by section 2-a of
 part MM of chapter 56 of the  laws  of  2020,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (v)  subject  to  the availability of federal financial participation,
 personal care services other than personal emergency  response  services
 available pursuant to this paragraph shall be available only to individ-
 uals  assessed  as  needing  at  least  limited assistance with physical
 maneuvering with more than two activities of daily living, or for  indi-
 viduals  with a dementia or Alzheimer's diagnosis, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJU-
 RY, COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY, BLINDNESS, OR VISUAL
 IMPAIRMENT, assessed as needing at least supervision with more than  one
 activity  of  daily  living,  as  defined  and  determined  by  using an
 evidenced based validated assessment instrument approved by the  commis-
 sioner  and  in  accordance  with  regulations of the department and any
 applicable state and  federal  laws  by  an  independent  assessor.  The
 provisions  of  this  subparagraph  shall  only apply to individuals who
 receive an initial authorization for such services on or  after  October
 first, two thousand twenty;
   §  2.  Paragraph  (c)  of subdivision 2 of section 365-f of the social
 services law, as amended by section 3 of part MM of chapter  56  of  the
 laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08092-01-3

 S. 5470                             2
 
   (c)  has  been determined by the social services district, pursuant to
 an assessment of the person's appropriateness for the program, conducted
 with an appropriate long term home health care program, a certified home
 health agency, or an AIDS home care program or pursuant to the  personal
 care  program,  as  being  in need of home care services or private duty
 nursing and as needing at least limited assistance with physical  maneu-
 vering  with  more  than  two activities of daily living, or for persons
 with a dementia or Alzheimer's diagnosis, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, COGNI-
 TIVE IMPAIRMENT, DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY, BLINDNESS, OR VISUAL  IMPAIR-
 MENT, ASSESSED as needing at least supervision with more than one activ-
 ity  of daily living, provided that the provisions related to activities
 of daily living in this  paragraph  shall  only  apply  to  persons  who
 initially  seek  eligibility  for the program on or after October first,
 two thousand twenty, and who is able and willing  or  has  a  designated
 representative,  including  a  legal  guardian  able and willing to make
 informed choices, or a designated relative or other adult  who  is  able
 and  willing  to  assist  in making informed choices, as to the type and
 quality of services, including but not limited to such services as nurs-
 ing care, personal care, transportation and respite services; and
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5470

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Sponsored By

Gustavo Rivera

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

co-Sponsors

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Robert Jackson

John C. Liu

Rachel May

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S5470 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments