093_HB2922 LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 AN ACT in relation to aging. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by 5 changing Section 4.02 as follows: 6 (20 ILCS 105/4.02) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.02) 7 Sec. 4.02. The Department shall establish a program of 8 services to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of 9 persons age 60 and older in need of long term care or who are 10 established as persons who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or 11 a related disorder under the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance 12 Act, thereby enabling them to remain in their own homes or in 13 other living arrangements. Such preventive services, which 14 may be coordinated with other programs for the aged and 15 monitored by area agencies on aging in cooperation with the 16 Department, may include, but are not limited to, any or all 17 of the following: 18 (a) home health services; 19 (b) home nursing services; 20 (c) homemaker services; 21 (d) chore and housekeeping services; 22 (e) day care services; 23 (f) home-delivered meals; 24 (g) education in self-care; 25 (h) personal care services; 26 (i) adult day health services; 27 (j) habilitation services; 28 (k) respite care; 29 (l) other nonmedical social services that may 30 enable the person to become self-supporting; or 31 (m) clearinghouse for information provided by -2- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 senior citizen home owners who want to rent rooms to or 2 share living space with other senior citizens. 3 The Department shall establish eligibility standards for 4 such services taking into consideration the unique economic 5 and social needs of the target population for whom they are 6 to be provided. The eligibility standards must include a 7 provision that, to be eligible for services under this 8 Section, a person may not have assets (other than 9 specifically exempt assets) totaling more than $20,000 if: 10 (1) the person is unmarried; or 11 (2) the person is married and the Department 12 determines that: 13 (A) the person's spouse receives services under 14 this Section; or 15 (B) the person's spouse resides in a skilled 16 nursing or intermediate long-term care facility that 17 is subject to licensure by the Department of Public 18 Health under the Nursing Home Care Act; or 19 (C) the person's spouse does not reside on a 20 permanent basis with the person and does not receive 21 support from or give support to the person; or 22 (D) the person has been abandoned by his or her 23 spouse; or 24 (E) the person has been the subject of a report 25 of abuse (as defined in the Elder Abuse and Neglect 26 Act) by his or her spouse. 27 Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, the eligibility 28 standards must also include a provision that, to be eligible 29 for services under this Section, a person who is married and 30 whose spouse does not receive services under this Section may 31 not have assets (other than specifically exempt assets) 32 totaling more than the asset disregard amount used by the 33 Department of Public Aid in determining eligibility for 34 medical assistance under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid -3- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 Code. 2 Such eligibility standards shall be based on the 3 recipient's ability to pay for services; provided, however, 4 that in determining the amount and nature of services for 5 which a person may qualify, consideration shall not be given 6 to the value of cash, property or other assets held in the 7 name of the person's spouse pursuant to a written agreement 8 dividing marital property into equal but separate shares or 9 pursuant to a transfer of the person's interest in a home to 10 his spouse, provided that the spouse's share of the marital 11 property is not made available to the person seeking such 12 services. 13 Beginning July 1, 2002, the Department shall require as a 14 condition of eligibility that all applicants and recipients 15 apply for medical assistance under Article V of the Illinois 16 Public Aid Code in accordance with rules promulgated by the 17 Department. 18 The Department shall, in conjunction with the Department 19 of Public Aid, seek appropriate amendments under Sections 20 1915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act. The purpose of the 21 amendments shall be to extend eligibility for home and 22 community based services under Sections 1915 and 1924 of the 23 Social Security Act to persons who transfer to or for the 24 benefit of a spouse those amounts of income and resources 25 allowed under Section 1924 of the Social Security Act. 26 Subject to the approval of such amendments, the Department 27 shall extend the provisions of Section 5-4 of the Illinois 28 Public Aid Code to persons who, but for the provision of home 29 or community-based services, would require the level of care 30 provided in an institution, as is provided for in federal 31 law. Those persons no longer found to be eligible for 32 receiving noninstitutional services due to changes in the 33 eligibility criteria shall be given 60 days notice prior to 34 actual termination. Those persons receiving notice of -4- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 termination may contact the Department and request the 2 determination be appealed at any time during the 60 day 3 notice period. With the exception of the lengthened notice 4 and time frame for the appeal request, the appeal process 5 shall follow the normal procedure. In addition, each person 6 affected regardless of the circumstances for discontinued 7 eligibility shall be given notice and the opportunity to 8 purchase the necessary services through the Community Care 9 Program. If the individual does not elect to purchase 10 services, the Department shall advise the individual of 11 alternative services. The target population identified for 12 the purposes of this Section are persons age 60 and older 13 with an identified service need. Priority shall be given to 14 those who are at imminent risk of institutionalization. The 15 services shall be provided to eligible persons age 60 and 16 older to the extent that the cost of the services together 17 with the other personal maintenance expenses of the persons 18 are reasonably related to the standards established for care 19 in a group facility appropriate to the person's condition. 20 These non-institutional services, pilot projects or 21 experimental facilities may be provided as part of or in 22 addition to those authorized by federal law or those funded 23 and administered by the Department of Human Services. The 24 Departments of Human Services, Public Aid, Public Health, 25 Veterans' Affairs, and Commerce and Community Affairs and 26 other appropriate agencies of State, federal and local 27 governments shall cooperate with the Department on Aging in 28 the establishment and development of the non-institutional 29 services. The Department shall require an annual audit from 30 all chore/housekeeping and homemaker vendors contracting with 31 the Department under this Section. The annual audit shall 32 assure that each audited vendor's procedures are in 33 compliance with Department's financial reporting guidelines 34 requiring a 27% administrative cost split and a 73% employee -5- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 wages and benefits cost split. The audit is a public record 2 under the Freedom of Information Act. The Department shall 3 execute, relative to the nursing home prescreening project, 4 written inter-agency agreements with the Department of Human 5 Services and the Department of Public Aid, to effect the 6 following: (1) intake procedures and common eligibility 7 criteria for those persons who are receiving 8 non-institutional services; and (2) the establishment and 9 development of non-institutional services in areas of the 10 State where they are not currently available or are 11 undeveloped. On and after July 1, 1996, all nursing home 12 prescreenings for individuals 60 years of age or older shall 13 be conducted by the Department. 14 The Department is authorized to establish a system of 15 recipient copayment for services provided under this Section, 16 such copayment to be based upon the recipient's ability to 17 pay but in no case to exceed the actual cost of the services 18 provided. Additionally, any portion of a person's income 19 which is equal to or less than the federal poverty standard 20 shall not be considered by the Department in determining the 21 copayment. The level of such copayment shall be adjusted 22 whenever necessary to reflect any change in the officially 23 designated federal poverty standard. 24 The Department, or the Department's authorized 25 representative, shall recover the amount of moneys expended 26 for services provided to or in behalf of a person under this 27 Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the 28 estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may 29 be had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, 30 and then only at such time when there is no surviving child 31 who is under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally 32 disabled. This paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, 33 at the death of the person, of moneys for services provided 34 to the person or in behalf of the person under this Section -6- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 to which the person was not entitled; provided that such 2 recovery shall not be enforced against any real estate while 3 it is occupied as a homestead by the surviving spouse or 4 other dependent, if no claims by other creditors have been 5 filed against the estate, or, if such claims have been filed, 6 they remain dormant for failure of prosecution or failure of 7 the claimant to compel administration of the estate for the 8 purpose of payment. This paragraph shall not bar recovery 9 from the estate of a spouse, under Sections 1915 and 1924 of 10 the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the Illinois 11 Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving services 12 under this Section in death. All moneys for services paid to 13 or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be 14 claimed for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate. 15 "Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling 16 house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving 17 spouse or relative, as defined by the rules and regulations 18 of the Illinois Department of Public Aid, regardless of the 19 value of the property. 20 The Department shall develop procedures to enhance 21 availability of services on evenings, weekends, and on an 22 emergency basis to meet the respite needs of caregivers. 23 Procedures shall be developed to permit the utilization of 24 services in successive blocks of 24 hours up to the monthly 25 maximum established by the Department. Workers providing 26 these services shall be appropriately trained. 27 Beginning on the effective date of this Amendatory Act of 28 1991, no person may perform chore/housekeeping and homemaker 29 services under a program authorized by this Section unless 30 that person has been issued a certificate of pre-service to 31 do so by his or her employing agency. Information gathered 32 to effect such certification shall include (i) the person's 33 name, (ii) the date the person was hired by his or her 34 current employer, and (iii) the training, including dates and -7- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 levels. Persons engaged in the program authorized by this 2 Section before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 3 1991 shall be issued a certificate of all pre- and in-service 4 training from his or her employer upon submitting the 5 necessary information. The employing agency shall be 6 required to retain records of all staff pre- and in-service 7 training, and shall provide such records to the Department 8 upon request and upon termination of the employer's contract 9 with the Department. In addition, the employing agency is 10 responsible for the issuance of certifications of in-service 11 training completed to their employees. 12 The Department is required to develop a system to ensure 13 that persons working as homemakers and chore housekeepers 14 receive increases in their wages when the federal minimum 15 wage is increased by requiring vendors to certify that they 16 are meeting the federal minimum wage statute for homemakers 17 and chore housekeepers. An employer that cannot ensure that 18 the minimum wage increase is being given to homemakers and 19 chore housekeepers shall be denied any increase in 20 reimbursement costs. 21 The Department on Aging and the Department of Human 22 Services shall cooperate in the development and submission of 23 an annual report on programs and services provided under this 24 Section. Such joint report shall be filed with the Governor 25 and the General Assembly on or before September 30 each year. 26 The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly 27 shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the 28 Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of 29 Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and 30 the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research 31 Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly 32 Organization Act and filing such additional copies with the 33 State Government Report Distribution Center for the General 34 Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of -8- LRB093 07699 BDD 07886 b 1 the State Library Act. 2 Those persons previously found eligible for receiving 3 non-institutional services whose services were discontinued 4 under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal Year 1992, and who 5 do not meet the eligibility standards in effect on or after 6 July 1, 1992, shall remain ineligible on and after July 1, 7 1992. Those persons previously not required to cost-share 8 and who were required to cost-share effective March 1, 1992, 9 shall continue to meet cost-share requirements on and after 10 July 1, 1992. Beginning July 1, 1992, all clients will be 11 required to meet eligibility, cost-share, and other 12 requirements and will have services discontinued or altered 13 when they fail to meet these requirements. 14 (Source: P.A. 91-303, eff. 1-1-00; 91-798, eff. 7-9-00; 15 92-597, eff. 6-28-02.) 16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 17 January 1, 2004.