House Bill No. 6705
Public Act No. 13-234
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOUSING, HUMAN SERVICES AND PUBLIC HEALTH.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Sec. 127. Section 17b-261 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):....(b) Any transfer or assignment of assets resulting in the establishment or imposition of a penalty period shall create a debt, as defined in section 36a-645 of the general statutes, that shall be due and owing to a nursing home facility for the unpaid cost of care provided during the penalty period to a nursing home facility resident who has been subject to the penalty period. The amount of the debt established shall not exceed the fair market value of the transferred assets at the time of transfer that are the subject of the penalty period.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not affect other rights or remedies of the parties. A nursing home facility may bring an action to collect a debt for unpaid care given to a resident who has been subject to a penalty period, provided (1) the debt recovery does not exceed the fair market value of the transferred asset at the time of transfer, and (2) the asset transfer that triggered the penalty period took place not earlier than two years prior to the date of the resident's Medicaid application. The nursing home facility may bring such action against (A) the transferor, or (B) the transferee.
(d) In actions brought under subsection (c) of this section, a court of competent jurisdiction may award actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to a nursing home facility if such court determines, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that a defendant incurred a debt to a nursing home facility by (1) wilfully transferring assets that are the subject of a penalty period, (2) receiving such assets with knowledge of such purpose, or (3) making a material misrepresentation or omission concerning such assets. Court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees shall be awarded as a matter of law to a defendant who successfully defends an action or a counterclaim brought pursuant to this section. Any court, including a probate court acting under subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 45a-98 of the general statutes or section 45a-364 of the general statutes, may also order that such assets or proceeds from the transfer of such assets be held in constructive trust to satisfy such debt.
(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a conservator who transfers income or principal with the approval of the Probate Court under subsection (d) or (e) of section 45a-655 of the general statutes.
Sec. 129. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) For purposes of this section, "applied income" means the income of a recipient of medical assistance, pursuant to section 17b-261 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, that is required, after the exhaustion of all appeals and in accordance with state and federal law, to be paid to a nursing home facility for the cost of care and services.
(b) In determining the amount of applied income, the Department of Social Services shall take into consideration any modification to the applied income due to revisions in a medical assistance recipient's community spouse minimum monthly needs allowance, as described in Section 1924 of the Social Security Act, and any other modification to applied income allowed by state or federal law.
(c) A nursing home facility shall provide written notice to a recipient of medical assistance and any person authorized under law to be in control of such recipient's applied income (1) of the amount of applied income due pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, (2) of the recipient's legal obligation to pay such applied income to the nursing home facility, and (3) that the recipient's failure to pay applied income due to a nursing home facility not later than ninety days after receiving such notice from the nursing home facility may result in a civil action in accordance with this section.
(d) Pursuant to the notice provisions of subsections (c) and (f) of this section, a nursing home facility that is owed applied income may, in addition to all other remedies authorized under statutory and common law, bring a civil action to recover the applied income, provided the nursing home facility shall not commence such action against a recipient of medical assistance who has asserted that the applied income is needed to increase the minimum monthly needs allowance of the recipient's community spouse, pursuant to 42 USC 1396r-5(e)(2)(B). In such case, the nursing home facility may not commence such action until the recipient, the recipient's community spouse or the legal representative of either has exhausted their appeal rights before the Department of Social Services and in court. A nursing home facility may bring such action against (1) a medical assistance recipient who owes the applied income, or (2) a person with legal access to such recipient's applied income who acted with the intent to (A) deprive such recipient of the applied income, or (B) appropriate the applied income for himself, herself or a third person.
(e) If a court of competent jurisdiction determines, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that a defendant wilfully failed to pay or withheld applied income due and owing to a nursing home facility for more than ninety days after receiving notice pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the court may award the amount of the debt owed, court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the nursing home facility. Court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees shall be awarded as a matter of law to a defendant who successfully defends an action or a counterclaim brought pursuant to this section. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a conservator who transfers income or principal with the approval of the Probate Court under subsection (d) or (e) of section 45a-655 of the general statutes.
(f) A nursing home facility shall not file any action under this section until (1) thirty days after it has given written notice of such action to any person who received notice pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, or (2) ninety-one days after it has given written notice of such action and the information required by subsection (c) of this section to any person who has not received notice pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
Sec. 130. (NEW)
(Effective October 1, 2013) Upon commencement of any action
brought under section 128 or 129 of this act, a nursing home facility
shall mail a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General and the
Commissioner of Social Services and, upon entry of any judgment or
decree in the action, shall mail a copy of such judgment or decree to
the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Social Services.
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Sec. 156. Sections 17a-220, 17b-261n,
17b-311, 17b-490, 17b-491, 17b-492 and 17b-493 to 17b-498, inclusive,
of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective January 1, 2014)
[17b-261n sought to modify the low-income
medicaid rules to implement a $10,000 income cap and deem income/assets
of parents to adults under age 26]
[17b-311 was the program for the uninsured under the Affordable Care
Act, which expires when the ACA goes into effect in 2014]
[17b-492 was ConnPACE]
Approved June 19, 2013
Signed by Governor June 20, 2013