Allows a person legally responsible for an eligible individual's care and support, an eligible individual's spouse or designated representative to be a personal assistant in a consumer directed personal assistance program where such person is the sole person responsible for the eligible individual's care and support.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A393
SPONSOR: Eichenstein TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to consumer
directed personal assistance programs
PURPOSE:
To help a disabled individual requiring personal assistance to find a
suitable caregiver under the consumer directed personal assistance
program.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill would allow persons who are legally responsible
for the eligible individual's care and support to provide services under
the consumer directed personal assistance program, provided such persons
are the only persons responsible for the individual's care and support.
Section two of the bill provides that the bill would take effect imme-
diately.
JUSTIFICATION:
In some instances, the only persons who are available to provide
personal care to a disabled child are a parent who is also responsible
for the child's legal support. Generally, a legally responsible person
is disqualified from providing such care, however it may be in the best
interest of the child to have a parent assume the role as a personal
caregiver. This bill would allow parents to provide such personal care
under the consumer directed personal assistance program as part of the
State's Medicaid program.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
01/03/24: A239- referred to Health
01/04/23: A239- referred to Health
01/05/22: A2493- referred to Health
01/19/21: A2493- referred to Health
01/08/20: A7320- referred to Health
04/22/19: A7320- referred to Health
02/02/18: A9717- referred to Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
393
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to consumer
directed personal assistance programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 365-f of the social services law,
2 as amended by section 9 of part QQ of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 3. Division of responsibilities. Eligible individuals who elect to
5 participate in the program assume the responsibility for services under
6 such program as mutually agreed to by the eligible individual and
7 provider and as documented in the eligible individual's record, includ-
8 ing, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring and supervising their
9 personal assistants. For the purposes of this section, personal assist-
10 ant shall mean an adult who has obtained an individual unique identifier
11 from the state by or before a date determined by the commissioner of
12 health in consultation with the Medicaid inspector general, and provides
13 services under this section to the eligible individual under the eligi-
14 ble individual's instruction, supervision and direction or under the
15 instruction, supervision and direction of the eligible individual's
16 designated representative, provided that [a person] persons legally
17 responsible for an eligible individual's care and support, an eligible
18 individual's spouse or designated representative may not be the personal
19 [assistant] assistants for the eligible individual unless such persons
20 are the only persons responsible for the eligible individual's care and
21 support; however, a personal assistant may include any other adult rela-
22 tive of the eligible individual, provided, however, that the program
23 determines that the services provided by such relative are consistent
24 with an individual's plan of care and that the aggregate cost for such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01601-01-5
A. 393 2
1 services does not exceed the aggregate costs for equivalent services
2 provided by a non-relative personal assistant. Any personal information
3 submitted to obtain such unique identifier shall be maintained as confi-
4 dential pursuant to article six-A of the public officers law ("New York
5 state privacy protection law"). Such individuals shall be assisted as
6 appropriate with service coverage, supervision, advocacy and management.
7 Providers shall not be liable for fulfillment of responsibilities agreed
8 to be undertaken by the eligible individual. This subdivision, however,
9 shall not diminish the participating provider's liability for failure to
10 exercise reasonable care in properly carrying out its responsibilities
11 under this program, which shall include monitoring such individual's
12 continuing ability to fulfill those responsibilities documented in [his
13 or her] the individual's records. Failure of the individual to carry out
14 [his or her] the individual's agreed to responsibilities may be consid-
15 ered in determining such individual's continued appropriateness for the
16 program.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
