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An Act To Allow Qualifying Medicaid Recipients To Hire Relatives and Legal Guardians for Consumer-directed Attendant Services
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3174-AAA  is enacted to read:
§ 3174-AAA. Eligible caregivers
 
1.  Definition.     For the purposes of this section, "consumer-directed attendant services" means services that are reimbursable under the MaineCare program and provide assistance with the activities of daily living in the home or community for a MaineCare member who directly employs and trains the attendant, supervises the provision of reimbursable services and, if necessary, terminates the services of the attendant.
 
2.  Relatives or legal guardians as attendants.     A MaineCare member approved for consumer-directed attendant services under the MaineCare program may employ a family member, including a spouse, parent, stepparent, adult child and other legally responsible relative, or the legal guardian of the member as an attendant to be reimbursed by the MaineCare program.
 
3.  Rulemaking.     The department shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. Waiver request. No later than January 1, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services shall submit a waiver request to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that requests approval for Medicaid reimbursement for employment of a relative or legal guardian providing consumer-directed attendant services to a MaineCare member receiving those services under rule Chapter 101: MaineCare Benefits Manual, Chapter II, Section 12. The department shall take all reasonable and necessary steps to seek approval of the waiver.
Sec. 3. Rulemaking. Within 180 days of receiving approval for coverage by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pursuant to a waiver request in accordance with this Act, the Department of Health and Human Services shall adopt rules to implement the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3174-AAA. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 4. Contingent effective date. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3174-AAA takes effect only if the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves a waiver request submitted in accordance with this Act. Upon approval of the waiver request, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services shall notify the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Revisor of Statutes of that fact.
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows a MaineCare member approved for consumer-directed attendant services under the MaineCare program to hire any family member, including a spouse, or a legal guardian to provide those services in the home or community. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a waiver request to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services no later than January 1, 2019. The department is required to adopt rules within 180 days of receiving approval for the waiver.