40-2134. Same; department of health and environment duties; long-term care partnership policies, benefits of; duties of certain state agencies. (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), the department of health and environment in conjunction with the Kansas department of insurance shall establish a long-term care partnership program in Kansas to provide for the financing of long-term care through a combination of private insurance and medical assistance. The long-term care partnership program shall:

(1) Provide incentives for individuals to insure against the costs of providing for their long-term care needs;

(2) provide a mechanism for individuals to qualify for coverage under medical assistance while having certain assets disregarded for eligibility determinations and recovery; and

(3) reduce the financial burden on the state's medical assistance program by encouraging the pursuit of private initiatives using qualified long-term care partnership insurance policies.

(b) An individual who is a beneficiary of a Kansas long-term care partnership program policy shall be eligible for assistance under the state's medical assistance program using the asset disregard as provided under subsection (e).

(c) The department of health and environment shall pursue reciprocal agreements with other states to extend the asset disregard to Kansas residents who purchased long-term care partnership policies in other states that are compliant with title VI, section 6021 of the federal deficit reduction act of 2005, public law 109-171, and any applicable federal regulations or guidelines.

(d) As provided under subsection (e), certain assets of an individual who has received benefits from a qualified long-term care partnership policy shall not be considered when determining:

(1) The individual's medical assistance eligibility; and

(2) any subsequent recovery by the state for a payment for medical services or long-term care services made by the medical assistance program on behalf of the individual.

(e) Under the individual's long-term care insurance policy if the individual is a beneficiary of a qualified long-term care partnership program policy at the time the individual applies for benefits under the Kansas medical assistance program, the assets an individual may own and retain under Kansas medical assistance program and still qualify for benefits under the program shall be increased dollar-for-dollar for each dollar paid out after the effective date of the state plan amendment, or after the issue date of a policy exchanged, whichever is later.

(f) If the long-term care partnership program established by this act is discontinued, any individual who purchased a Kansas long-term care partnership program policy before the date the program was discontinued shall be eligible to receive asset disregard if allowed as provided by title VI, section 6021 of the federal deficit reduction act of 2005, public law 109-171.

(g) The department of health and environment, the Kansas department for children and families, the Kansas department for aging and disability services and the department of insurance shall post, on their respective websites, information on how to access the national clearinghouse established under the federal deficit reduction act of 2005, public law 109-171, when the national clearinghouse becomes available to consumers.

History: L. 2008, ch. 51, § 3; L. 2012, ch. 102, § 16; L. 2014, ch. 115, § 187; July 1.