Payment of claims for home health services provided under Medicare and Medicaid. Liability. Sanctions

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, for the duration of a demonstration project established pursuant to 42 USC 1395b-1 for the purpose of improving the efficiency of the process for the payment of claims for home health services provided to individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid: (1) No eligible recipient of home health services shall be liable for reimbursement to the state for the cost of those services; and (2) the Commissioner of Social Services may impose upon a provider of home health services a sanction of up to fifty thousand dollars for each failure to file claims or medical records as required under the provisions of the demonstration project. Any sanction imposed pursuant to this section may be recouped from ongoing payments to the provider of the services. (b) The Commissioner of Social Services may, pursuant to an agreement with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, waive liability for reimbursement to the state for payment for home health services received by an otherwise liable eligible recipient to whom such services were provided during the interim period from October 1, 1997, to September 30, 2000, inclusive.