LRB-1081/1
PJK:bjk:rs
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
April 30, 2009 - Introduced by Representatives Roth, Smith, Bies, Brooks,
Gunderson, Kaufert, Lothian, A. Ott, Petersen, Spanbauer, Townsend and
M. Williams, cosponsored by Senators Lassa, Olsen, Schultz and Taylor.
Referred to Committee on Children and Families.
AB238,1,4
1An Act to amend 49.47 (4) (b) 3., 49.47 (4) (i) 2. a. and 49.47 (4) (i) 2. c.; and
to
2create 49.47 (4m) of the statutes;
relating to: determining eligibility of certain
3persons for Medical Assistance without consideration of a spouse's income or
4assets.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, the Department of Health Services (DHS) administers the
Medical Assistance (MA) program, under which eligible persons receive health care
or long-term care services. Under one category of eligibility, commonly known as the
medically needy category, a person is eligible if his or her income and assets do not
exceed a specified level and he or she is blind or totally and permanently disabled.
Generally, if the person is married, the income and assets of both of the spouses are
taken into consideration for purposes of determining eligibility or continued
eligibility.
This bill requires DHS to request a waiver that would allow DHS, if the waiver
is granted, to disregard the income and assets of a person's spouse and to continue
treating the person as single for purposes of determining the person's continued
eligibility and family size if the person: 1) is blind or totally and permanently
disabled; 2) is receiving MA under the medically needy category; 3) was single when
he or she first became eligible for MA; and 4) marries after the bill is enacted and the
waiver goes into effect. The bill makes an exception for persons who reside or begin
residing in medical institutions or nursing facilities and receive long-term care
services, because those persons are subject to federal law requirements relating to
the assets of spouses when one spouse resides in an institution and the other does
not.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB238, s. 1
1Section
1. 49.47 (4) (b) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB238,2,62
49.47
(4) (b) 3. For a person who is eligible under par. (a) 3. or 4., funds set aside
3to meet the burial and related expenses of the person and his or her spouse
, if
4applicable, in an amount not to exceed $1,500 each, minus the sum of the cash value
5of any life insurance excluded under subd. 2w. and the amount in any irrevocable
6burial trust under s. 445.125 (1) (a).
AB238, s. 2
7Section
2. 49.47 (4) (i) 2. a. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB238,2,148
49.47
(4) (i) 2. a. For the person or his or her spouse,
if applicable, the sum of
9the following, less the cash value of any life insurance excluded under par. (b) 2w. that
10was obtained after July 1, 1993, exceeds $8,000: the value of any burial space or
11agreement described in par. (b) 2r. that was acquired after July 1, 1993; the amount
12in any irrevocable burial trust under s. 445.125 (1) (a) that was acquired after
13July 1, 1993; and any funds set aside after July 1, 1993, to meet the burial and
14related expenses under par. (b) 3.
AB238, s. 3
15Section
3. 49.47 (4) (i) 2. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB238,2,1816
49.47
(4) (i) 2. c. For the person or his or her spouse,
if applicable, the value of
17amounts set aside under par. (b) 3. for cemetery property and fees to open and close
18grave sites, including mausoleum spaces, exceeds $1,000.
AB238, s. 4
19Section
4. 49.47 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB238,3,10
149.47
(4m) Waiver to disregard spouse's income and assets. (a) Subject to par.
2(b) 2., except as provided in ss. 49.453 to 49.455 and notwithstanding ch. 766 and the
3income and resources limitations under sub. (4), if a beneficiary described in sub. (4)
4(a) 4. who was unmarried when he or she first became eligible for medical assistance
5under this section marries, when determining the individual's continued eligibility
6for medical assistance under this section the department shall not consider the
7income or assets of the individual's spouse and shall continue to treat the individual
8as if he or she is unmarried for purposes of the individual's family size, as long as the
9individual remains continuously eligible for medical assistance under this section
10while married to the spouse.
AB238,3,1511
(b) 1. No later than the first day of the 4th month beginning after the effective
12date of this subdivision .... [LRB inserts date], the department shall request a waiver
13from the secretary of the federal department of health and human services to
14implement the determination of continued eligibility of an individual described in
15par. (a) in the manner provided in par. (a).
AB238,3,1816
2. The department shall implement the determination of continued eligibility
17in the manner provided in par. (a) only if a waiver under subd. 1. that is consistent
18with par. (a) is granted and in effect.
AB238,3,2320
(1) The treatment of section 49.47 (4m) (a) of the statutes first applies to
21individuals receiving medical assistance under section 49.47 of the statutes who
22marry on the date that a waiver under section 49.47 (4m) (b) of the statutes, as
23created by this act, goes into effect.
