Amendment of home and community-based services waiver to include certain services for and compensation of persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities

1. The Authority shall apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to amend its home and community-based services waiver granted pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1396n. The waiver must be amended, in addition to providing coverage for any home and community-based service which the waiver covers on January 1, 2025, to authorize: (a) The Authority to include as medical assistance under Medicaid the funding of habilitation services designed to provide persons with intellectual disabilities or persons with developmental disabilities assistance in pursuing competitive integrated employment, including, without limitation: (1) Benefit counseling to assist a person with an intellectual disability or person with a developmental disability in earning a higher income while retaining any benefits or services that the person may be receiving. (2) Job coaching and job development. To the extent authorized by the Federal Government, the services described in this subparagraph must not be subject to authorization limits. (b) The compensation of a recipient of services under the waiver described in subsection 1 who is receiving prevocational services at a rate equal to or greater than the state minimum wage, including, without limitation, by waiving the requirement prescribed by 42 C.F.R. § 440.180(c)(2)(i)(B) that a person receiving prevocational services be compensated at less than 50 percent of the minimum wage. 2. The Authority shall: (a) Cooperate with the Federal Government in amending the waiver pursuant to this section; (b) If the Federal Government approves the amendments to the waiver, adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, including, without limitation, the criteria to be used in determining eligibility for the habilitation services designed to provide assistance to persons pursuing competitive integrated employment pursuant to subsection 1; and (c) Implement the amendments to the waiver only to the extent that the amendments are approved by the Federal Government. 3. As used in this section, “competitive integrated employment” has the meaning ascribed to it in 29 U.S.C. § 705(5).