HB 5038 Summary

• Creates a new Department of Rehabilitation Services as a separate state department, transferring aging-related functions from the Department of Social Services effective upon passage.

• Designates the Department of Rehabilitation Services as the State Unit on Aging to administer programs for older persons including nutrition, fall prevention, CHOICES health insurance assistance, and Alzheimer's respite care.

• Removes the Department on Aging as a successor department to the Department of Social Services, instead making it a successor to the Department of Rehabilitation Services with automatic statutory substitutions of commissioner and department titles throughout the general statutes.

• Eliminates Medicaid graduate medical education payments to hospitals effective July 1, 2018.

• Modifies nursing home community care eligibility criteria effective July 1, 2018, to include persons in affordable housing under the assisted living demonstration project and those already enrolled in the program on June 30, 2018.