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Budget Summary FY2011

Outside Section 136
Data Current as of:  8/6/2010




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Commonwealth Care Bridge Program Reauthorization

SECTION 136.   (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), an eligible individual pursuant to section 3 of chapter 118H of the General Laws shall not include a person who is not eligible to receive federally-funded benefits under sections 401, 402 or 403 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-193, as amended, for fiscal year 2011.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, except as provided in subsection (c), the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of health and human services and the executive director of the health insurance connector authority may, in their discretion and subject only to the terms and conditions in this subsection, make payments from the fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29 to operate the health insurance plan established pursuant to subsection (b) of section 31 of chapter 65 of the acts of 2009 for such time as is necessary to notify persons whose benefits will be terminated pursuant to this section of such termination; provided however, that no payments shall be made for benefits to persons who were not receiving benefits under that health insurance plan on the first day of the last month of fiscal year 2010; and provided further, that no payments shall be made after August 31, 2010.

(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon receipt of a written certification by the secretary of administration and finance, addressed to the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means and the comptroller of the commonwealth, that legislation extending the commonwealth's eligibility for an enhanced federal medical assistance percentage pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law No. 111-5, not in effect as of June 1, 2010, has been duly enacted and signed into law by the President of the United States or that the federal government has otherwise obligated itself to release additional funding not available as of June 1, 2010, to the commonwealth during state fiscal year 2011, subsection (b) shall be disregarded and the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of health and human services and the executive director of the commonwealth health insurance connector authority may, in their discretion and subject only to the terms and conditions in this subsection, establish or designate a health insurance plan in which a person who is not eligible to receive federally-funded benefits under said sections 401, 402 or 403 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193, as amended, but who is an eligible individual pursuant to said section 3 of said chapter 118H may enroll for the period including July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, inclusive. The plan may be contracted for selectively from the health plans that contracted in fiscal year 2010 to provide insurance coverage to commonwealth care or MassHealth enrollees. Total state costs of providing coverage to all such persons, net of enrollee contributions and any federal financial participation, shall not exceed $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. To the extent that additional federal financial participation becomes available for paying the costs of such coverage, the secretary of administration and finance may direct the comptroller to make such amounts available from the General Fund for the purpose of paying for the costs of such coverage. If the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of health and human services and the executive director of the commonwealth health insurance connector authority determine that the projected costs of enrolling eligible individuals in such coverage in fiscal year 2011 will exceed net state costs of $60,000,000, they may limit enrollment in such coverage. If the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of health and human services and the executive director of the commonwealth health insurance connector authority are unable to establish or designate a health insurance plan under this section, the secretary of administration and finance may direct the comptroller to transfer up to $60,000,000 from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund for the cost of health safety net claims for these individuals.