Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1526
By Senator Garcia
37-01326-21 20211526__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Medicaid coverage for former foster
3 youth; amending s. 409.1451, F.S.; requiring the
4 Department of Children and Families to develop a
5 program to facilitate enrollment of certain young
6 adults in Medicaid; authorizing the department to
7 coordinate with a community-based care lead agency in
8 implementing the program; specifying requirements for
9 outreach services provided by the program; amending s.
10 409.903, F.S.; revising eligibility for Medicaid
11 coverage for certain young adults formerly eligible
12 for foster care; providing for presumptive eligibility
13 for Medicaid for certain young adults; providing an
14 effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Subsection (10) of section 409.1451, Florida
19 Statutes, is amended to read:
20 409.1451 The Road-to-Independence Program.—
21 (10) MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR YOUNG ADULTS FORMERLY IN CARE.—
22 (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(a), the department or
23 community-based care lead agency shall develop a program to
24 facilitate the enrollment of document that eligible young adults
25 eligible for are enrolled in Medicaid under s. 409.903(4).
26 (b) The department may coordinate with the community-based
27 care lead agency in implementing the program.
28 (c) The program must provide outreach services that must
29 include:
30 1. Notifying eligible or prospectively eligible young
31 adults, caregivers, group homes, and residential programs about
32 the eligibility and options for enrollment.
33 2. Providing technical assistance to eligible young adults
34 in enrolling.
35 3. Publicizing options for Medicaid enrollment for young
36 adults who have lived in foster care.
37 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 409.903, Florida
38 Statutes, is amended to read:
39 409.903 Mandatory payments for eligible persons.—The agency
40 shall make payments for medical assistance and related services
41 on behalf of the following persons who the department, or the
42 Social Security Administration by contract with the Department
43 of Children and Families, determines to be eligible, subject to
44 the income, assets, and categorical eligibility tests set forth
45 in federal and state law. Payment on behalf of these Medicaid
46 eligible persons is subject to the availability of moneys and
47 any limitations established by the General Appropriations Act or
48 chapter 216.
49 (4) A child who is eligible under Title IV-E of the Social
50 Security Act for subsidized board payments, foster care, or
51 adoption subsidies, and a child for whom the state has assumed
52 temporary or permanent responsibility and who does not qualify
53 for Title IV-E assistance but is in foster care, shelter or
54 emergency shelter care, or subsidized adoption. This category
55 includes:
56 (a) A young adult who as a child was eligible under Title
57 IV-E of the Social Security Act for foster care or state
58 provided foster care and was living in licensed care in this
59 state on his or her 18th birthday is eligible to receive
60 services under s. 409.1451, until the young adult reaches 26 21
61 years of age, without regard to any income, resource, or
62 categorical eligibility test that is otherwise required. A young
63 adult who is eligible for Medicaid under this paragraph must be
64 offered the opportunity, subject to federal rules, to be made
65 presumptively eligible.
66 (b) A person who as a child was eligible under Title IV-E
67 of the Social Security Act for foster care or the state-provided
68 foster care and who is a participant in the Road-to-Independence
69 Program.
70 (c) A child who is eligible for the Guardianship Assistance
71 Program as provided in s. 39.6225.
72 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.