208.692. Program established, purpose--asset disregard--departments duties--rules. - Missouri Statutes

Program established, purpose--asset disregard--departmentsduties--rules.

208.692. 1. In accordance with Section 6021 of the Federal DeficitReduction Act of 2005, there is established the Missouri long-term carepartnership program, which shall be administered by the department ofsocial services in conjunction with the department of insurance, financialinstitutions and professional registration. The program shall:

(1) Provide incentives for individuals to insure against the costs ofproviding for their long-term care needs;

(2) Provide a mechanism for individuals to qualify for coverage ofthe cost of their long-term care needs under MO HealthNet without firstbeing required to substantially exhaust their resources; and

(3) Alleviate the financial burden to the MO HealthNet program byencouraging the pursuit of private initiatives.

2. Upon payment under a Missouri qualified long-term carepartnership-approved policy, certain assets of an individual, as providedin subsection 3 of this section, shall be disregarded when determining anyof the following:

(1) MO HealthNet eligibility;

(2) The amount of any MO HealthNet payment; and

(3) Any subsequent recovery by the state of a payment for medicalservices.

3. The department of social services shall:

(1) Within one hundred eighty days of August 28, 2007, makeapplication to the federal Department of Health and Human Services for astate plan amendment to establish a program that, in determiningeligibility for state MO HealthNet benefits, provides for the disregard ofany assets or resources in an amount equal to the insurance benefitpayments that are made to or on behalf of an individual who is abeneficiary under a qualified long-term care insurance partnership policy;and

(2) Provide information and technical assistance to the department ofinsurance, financial institutions and professional registration to assurethat any individual who sells a qualified long-term care insurancepartnership policy receives training and demonstrates evidence of anunderstanding of such policies and how they relate to other public andprivate coverage of long-term care.

4. The department of social services shall promulgate rules toimplement the provisions of sections 208.690 to 208.698. Any rule orportion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, RSMo, thatis created under the authority delegated in this section shall becomeeffective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisionsof chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section 536.028, RSMo. Thissection and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and if any of the powersvested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to review,to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule aresubsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authorityand any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2007, shall be invalidand void.

(L. 2007 S.B. 577)