SB 956 — AN ACT PROVIDING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS.

Senate General Assembly FileRaised Bill No.

516956 January Session, 2021 SenateLCO Bill No.

9563828 Senate,Referred Aprilto 19, 2021 The Committee on HumanHUMAN ServicesSERVICES reportedIntroduced throughby: SEN.

MOORE(HS) ofAN theACT 22ndPROVIDING Dist.,MEDICAL ChairpersonASSISTANCE ofTO theCERTAIN CommitteeINDIVIDUALS onREGARDLESS theOF partIMMIGRATION ofSTATUS. the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT PROVIDING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS.

(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall provide, in accordance withfederallawandregulations,medicalassistanceundertheMedicaid SB956program /to Fileneedy pregnant women whose families have an income not LCO 3828 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-00956-R01 of 2 SB.docx Raised Bill No.

516956 1exceeding SB956two Filehundred No.fifty-eight per cent of the federal poverty level.

516 program to needy pregnant women whose families have an income not exceeding two hundred fifty-eight per cent of the federal poverty level.

Section 1 July 1, 2021 Section 1 17b-261 Sec.

3 July 1, 2021 17b-292(a) HS Joint Favorable SB956APP /Joint FileFavorable No.LCO 3828 {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-00956- 2 of 2 R02-SB.docx }

516 2 SB956 File No.

516 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $ Social Services, Dept.

GF - Cost $67 million to $200 million to $116 million $258 million Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in a cost to the Department of Social Services (DSS) associated with extending Medicaid and HUSKY B eligibility to individuals regardless of immigration status.

This is anticipated to increase program costs by approximately $67 million to $116 million in FY 22 and up to $200 million to $258 million in FY 23, depending on enrollment and per member costs.

This reflects fully state-funded costs as federal Medicaid coverage is generally not available to support individuals without a qualified non-citizen status.

The actual cost depends on the timing of enrollment as well as service utilizationbycategory.Thisisestimatedtoimpactapproximately38,500 individuals in HUSKY A, C, D, and HUSKY B.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to program enrollment and service utilization.

Sources:

Department of Social Services Cost and Caseload Information Migration Policy Institute (unauthorized immigrant population data for CT) US Census Bureau SB956 / File No.

516 3 SB956 File No.

516 OLR Bill Analysis SB 956 AN ACT PROVIDING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS.

SUMMARY This bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide medical assistance, within available appropriations, to people regardless of their immigration status, as long as they otherwise meet income eligibility guidelines for HUSKY A, C, and D (see BACKGROUND).

Under current law, children in households with incomes above 196% of the federal poverty limit (FPL) and up to 318% FPL may be eligible for benefits under HUSKY B.

The bill authorizes HUSKY B eligibility regardless of immigration status.

In practice, HUSKY B is the program through which DSS distributes federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits.

Under federal law, CHIP coverage is generally available to certain lawfully present non-citizens and unavailable to those who are undocumented.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2021 BACKGROUND HUSKY A HUSKY A provides Medicaid coverage to:

1.

parents and caretaker relatives with a household income of up to 155% of FPL (CGS § 17b-261(a));

2.

children under age 19 with household income of up to 196% of FPL (CGS § 17b-261(a));

and 3.

pregnant women with household income of up to 258% of FPL SB956 / File No.