Bill > HB1018

This bill establishes a process to ensure individuals being discharged from nursing facilities are quickly connected with long-term services and supports (LTSS) through Medicaid, a government health insurance program for low-income individuals. Under this bill, individuals leaving a nursing facility will be considered "presumptively eligible" for LTSS, meaning they are assumed to qualify based on certain criteria, even before a full eligibility determination is made. The state department of health care policy and financing will assess individuals for functional eligibility within one business day of being notified that they are ready to leave a nursing facility, and if they meet the criteria and attest to meeting income, asset, and immigration requirements, they will be deemed presumptively eligible. County departments of human or social services will then be required to arrange for these LTSS to be in place *before* the individual's discharge date, without conducting a full financial eligibility check at that stage. The bill also mandates that nursing facilities notify the state department when a resident is eligible to transition out, and requires the state department to report annually on the number of individuals deemed presumptively eligible, how long these determinations take, and any instances where LTSS were not in place at discharge. Furthermore, the bill outlines penalties for county departments that repeatedly fail to arrange LTSS in a timely manner and for nursing facilities that cause discharge delays due to their own failures or lack of cooperation, potentially by withholding payment for services during the delay. The bill's implementation is contingent on obtaining federal authorization for this presumptive eligibility process.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1018