Senate Bill sb2322e2

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    CS for SB 2322                                Second Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the medically needy program;

  3         amending s. 409.904, F.S.; postponing the

  4         effective date of changes to standards for

  5         eligibility for certain optional medical

  6         assistance, including coverage under the

  7         medically needy program; providing

  8         appropriations; providing for retroactive

  9         application; providing an effective date.

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11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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13         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 409.904, Florida

14  Statutes, is amended to read:

15         409.904  Optional payments for eligible persons.--The

16  agency may make payments for medical assistance and related

17  services on behalf of the following persons who are determined

18  to be eligible subject to the income, assets, and categorical

19  eligibility tests set forth in federal and state law.  Payment

20  on behalf of these Medicaid eligible persons is subject to the

21  availability of moneys and any limitations established by the

22  General Appropriations Act or chapter 216.

23         (2)  A caretaker relative or parent, a pregnant woman,

24  a child under age 19 who would otherwise qualify for Florida

25  Kidcare Medicaid, a child up to age 21 who would otherwise

26  qualify under s. 409.903(1), a person age 65 or over, or a

27  blind or disabled person, who would otherwise be eligible for

28  Florida Medicaid, except that the income or assets of such

29  family or person exceed established limitations. For a family

30  or person in one of these coverage groups, medical expenses

31  are deductible from income in accordance with federal


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    CS for SB 2322                                Second Engrossed



 1  requirements in order to make a determination of eligibility.

 2  Expenses used to meet spend-down liability are not

 3  reimbursable by Medicaid. Effective July May 1, 2003, when

 4  determining the eligibility of a pregnant woman, a child, or

 5  an aged, blind, or disabled individual, $270 shall be deducted

 6  from the countable income of the filing unit. When determining

 7  the eligibility of the parent or caretaker relative as defined

 8  by Title XIX of the Social Security Act, the additional income

 9  disregard of $270 does not apply. A family or person eligible

10  under the coverage known as the "medically needy," is eligible

11  to receive the same services as other Medicaid recipients,

12  with the exception of services in skilled nursing facilities

13  and intermediate care facilities for the developmentally

14  disabled.

15         Section 2.  The non-recurring sums of $8,265,777 from

16  the General Revenue Fund, $2,505,224 from the Grants and

17  Donations Trust Fund, and $11,727,287 from the Medical Care

18  Trust Fund are appropriated to the Agency for Health Care

19  Administration to implement section 1 of this act during the

20  2002-2003 fiscal year.

21         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

22  law, but if it becomes a law after May 1, 2003, this act shall

23  operate retroactively to that date.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.