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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the personal needs allowance for certain Medicaid |
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recipients who are residents of long-term care facilities. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 32.024(w), Human Resources Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(w) Subject to Section 32.02411, the [The] executive |
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commissioner shall set a personal needs allowance of not less than |
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$85 [$60] a month for a resident of a convalescent or nursing |
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facility or related institution licensed under Chapter 242, Health |
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and Safety Code, assisted living facility, ICF-IID facility, or |
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other similar long-term care facility who receives medical |
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assistance. The commission may send the personal needs allowance |
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directly to a resident who receives Supplemental Security Income |
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(SSI) (42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.). This subsection does not |
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apply to a resident who is participating in a medical assistance |
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waiver program administered by the commission. |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, |
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is amended by adding Section 32.02411 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 32.02411. BIENNIAL INFLATION ADJUSTMENT OF PERSONAL |
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NEEDS ALLOWANCE. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), on January 1 of |
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each odd-numbered year, the executive commissioner shall adjust for |
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inflation the amount of the personal needs allowance set under |
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Section 32.024(w). |
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(b) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year, |
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the executive commissioner shall by rule adjust the amount of the |
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personal needs allowance under Section 32.024(w) for the following |
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biennium that begins on January 1 to reflect the percentage |
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increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners |
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and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) published by the Bureau of Labor |
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Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or its |
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successor index during the most recent 24-month period ending in |
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August. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act to Section |
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32.024(w), Human Resources Code, applies only to a personal needs |
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allowance paid on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act |
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a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a |
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federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision, |
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the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or |
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authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the |
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waiver or authorization is granted. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |