The Commissioner of Social Services shall increase income disregards used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services for the federal Qualified Medicare Beneficiary, the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary and the Qualifying Individual programs, administered in accordance with the provisions of 42 USC 1396d(p), by such amounts that shall result in persons with income that is (1) less than two hundred eleven per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, (2) at or above two hundred eleven per cent of the federal poverty level but less than two hundred thirty-one per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying for the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary program, and (3) at or above two hundred thirty-one per cent of the federal poverty level but less than two hundred forty-six per cent of the federal poverty level qualifying for the Qualifying Individual program. The commissioner shall not apply an asset test for eligibility under the Medicare Savings Program. The commissioner shall not consider as income Aid and Attendance pension benefits granted to a veteran, as defined in section 27-103, or the surviving spouse of such veteran. The Commissioner of Social Services, pursuant to section 17b-10, may implement policies and procedures to administer the provisions of this section while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures in regulation form, provided the commissioner prints notice of the intent to adopt the regulations on the department's Internet web site and the eRegulations System not later than twenty days after the date of implementation. Such policies and procedures shall be valid until the time final regulations are adopted.
(P.A. 09-2, S. 16; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5, S. 70; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7, S. 182; P.A. 11-44, S. 91; P.A. 12-1, S. 1; 12-208, S. 3; P.A. 13-234, S. 82; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 50; Jan. Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-1, S. 5, 6; P.A. 18-81, S. 13.)
History: P.A. 09-2 effective April 1, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5 changed commencement date from June 30, 2009, to October 1, 2009, and added provision re asset test, effective October 5, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7 deleted references to fiscal year and inserted “annually”, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 11-44 added provisions requiring commissioner to consider deductions in calculating income disregards used to determine eligibility, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-1 changed commencement date from October 1, 2009, to March 1, 2012, effective March 6, 2012; P.A. 12-208 added provision re income disregard for veterans' Aid and Attendance pension benefits, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-234 eliminated provision tying eligibility for Medicare Savings programs to income eligibility for the ConnPACE program, added provision establishing separate income standards and made technical changes, effective January 1, 2014; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 replaced “increase income disregards used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services” with “establish eligibility”, replaced “two hundred eleven per cent” with “one hundred per cent” in Subdiv. (1), replaced “two hundred eleven per cent” with “one hundred per cent” and replaced “two hundred thirty-one per cent” with “one hundred twenty per cent” in Subdiv. (2), replaced “two hundred thirty-one per cent” with “one hundred twenty per cent” and “two hundred forty-six per cent” with “one hundred thirty-five per cent” in Subdiv. (3), and replaced “in the Connecticut Law Journal” with “on the department's Internet web site and the eRegulations System”, effective January 1, 2018; Jan. Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-1 replaced “establish eligibility” with “increase income disregards used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services”, amended Subdiv. (1) by replacing “one hundred per cent” with “two hundred eleven per cent”, amended Subdiv. (2) by replacing “one hundred per cent” with “two hundred eleven per cent” and replacing “one hundred twenty per cent” with “two hundred thirty-one per cent”, amended Subdiv. (3) by replacing “one hundred twenty per cent” with “two hundred thirty-one per cent” and replacing “one hundred thirty-five per cent” with “two hundred forty-six per cent”, effective January 31, 2018, and replaced “increase income disregards used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services” with “establish eligibility”, amended Subdiv. (1) by replacing “two hundred eleven per cent” with “one hundred per cent”, amended Subdiv. (2) by replacing “two hundred eleven per cent” with “one hundred per cent” and replacing “two hundred thirty-one per cent” with “one hundred twenty per cent”, and amended Subdiv. (3) by replacing “two hundred thirty-one per cent” with “one hundred twenty per cent” and replacing “two hundred forty-six per cent” with “one hundred thirty-five per cent”, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 18-81 replaced “establish eligibility” with “increase income disregards used to determine eligibility by the Department of Social Services”, amended Subdiv. (1) by replacing “one hundred per cent” with “two hundred eleven per cent”, amended Subdiv. (2) by replacing “one hundred per cent” with “two hundred eleven per cent” and replacing “one hundred twenty per cent” with “two hundred thirty-one per cent”, and amended Subdiv. (3) by replacing “one hundred twenty per cent” with “two hundred thirty-one per cent” and replacing “one hundred thirty-five per cent” with “two hundred forty-six per cent”, effective July 1, 2018.