Directs the commissioner of the department of health to apply for a waiver to implement a work requirement for able-bodied adult recipients of Medicaid.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5446
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 5, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT directing the commissioner of health to apply for a waiver to
implement a work requirement for able-bodied adult recipients of Medi-
caid
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The commissioner of health shall prepare and submit to the
2 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services an application for a waiver,
3 pursuant to section 1115 of the Social Security Act, 42 USC 1315, to
4 allow the state to implement a program incentivizing community engage-
5 ment and employment among able-bodied, working-age adults with the goal
6 of empowering program participants and providing them with the necessary
7 tools to seek and obtain employment and transition to self-sufficiency.
8 Such waiver shall include the following:
9 1. A requirement that every able-bodied, working-age adult enrolled in
10 the Medicaid program participate in community engagement or employment
11 activities. The following Medicaid program participants shall not be
12 subject to the requirement for participation in community engagement or
13 employment activities:
14 a. children under the age of 18 or individuals under the age of 19 who
15 are participating in secondary education;
16 b. individuals age 65 years and older; individuals who qualify for
17 medical assistance services due to blindness or disability, including
18 individuals who receive services pursuant to a waiver under federal law;
19 c. individuals residing in institutions; individuals determined to be
20 medically frail;
21 d. pregnant and postpartum women;
22 e. former foster children under the age of 26; and
23 f. individuals who are the primary caregiver for a dependent, includ-
24 ing a dependent child or adult dependent with a disability.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10045-01-1
S. 5446 2
1 2. Requirements for gradually escalating participation in community
2 engagement and employment activities, as follows:
3 a. three months after enrollment, at least five hours per week;
4 b. six months after enrollment, at least ten hours per week;
5 c. nine months after enrollment, at least fifteen hours per week; and
6 d. twelve months after enrollment, at least twenty hours per week.
7 3. Provisions for satisfaction of the requirement for participation in
8 community engagement and employment activities through:
9 a. participation in job skills training;
10 b. job search activities; education related to employment;
11 c. general education, including participation in a program of prepara-
12 tion for the General Education Development (GED) certification examina-
13 tion, Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) or community college
14 courses;
15 d. vocational education and training;
16 e. subsidized or unsubsidized employment;
17 f. community work experience; community service or public service; or
18 g. caregiving services for a nondependent relative or other person
19 with a chronic, disabling health condition.
20 4. Provisions for monitoring, evaluating, and assessing the effective-
21 ness of the demonstration program in improving the health and wellness
22 of program participants and furthering the objectives of the Medicaid
23 program.
24 § 2. The commissioner of health shall report to the governor, the
25 speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the senate on the
26 status of the waiver application required pursuant to this act by Janu-
27 ary 1, 2022.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
