AN ACT CONCERNING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SPOUSES OF INSTITUTIONALIZED MEDICAID RECIPIENTS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 17b-81 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2016):

(c) The Commissioner of Social Services shall determine a legally liable relative contribution for the spouse of an institutionalized [recipient of] individual who is a Medicaid recipient only when such spouse has income in excess of (1) the minimum monthly needs allowance or (2) the monthly needs allowance for such spouse as determined by the commissioner, through a fair hearing or court proceeding. The amount of such contribution shall not cause the income of such spouse to fall below said minimum monthly needs allowance or said monthly needs allowance for such spouse as determined by the commissioner, through a fair hearing or court proceeding. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4a-12 or the uniform contribution scale established by the Commissioner of Administrative Services pursuant to said section, any nontaxable income received from an annuity by the spouse of an institutionalized individual who is a Medicaid recipient shall be added to such spouse's taxable income when determining the amount such spouse owes as a contribution pursuant to this section. The spouse of an institutionalized individual, for whom a legally liable relative contribution is determined, may request a fair hearing regarding the amount of the contribution. For purposes of this section, "institutionalized individual" has the same meaning as provided in subsection (d) of section 17b-261a.