Rhode Island General Laws Title 40. Human Services § 40-18-1. Purpose

(a) The director of the department of human services, in addition to the medical assistance benefits provided in chapter 8 of this title, shall maintain and coordinate a program of long-term home health care. The purpose of the program of long-term home health care is to provide in-hospital eligible patients, who would be discharged to a skilled nursing facility and/or an intermediate-care facility, with a viable alternative to placement in a skilled nursing facility and/or intermediate-care facility. The director shall utilize a federally approved home- and community-based service waiver to provide a viable alternative. The hereinafter listed services shall be an integral part of the viable alternative.

(b) In addition, the director of the department of human services shall utilize any and all other available departmental resources and community resources to enhance and expand the provision of long-term home health care as the viable alternative to placement in a skilled nursing facility and/or an intermediate-care facility. These resources shall be used to strengthen and expand home- and community-based long-term care services, which will help people stay at home for care when this is an appropriate alternative to nursing facility care.

(c) In furtherance of subsections (a) and (b) above, the department of human services is authorized and directed to seek any waiver(s) required by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in accordance with otherwise applicable requirements of Title XIX of the Federal Social Security Act to establish an enhancement of the program for the provision of adult day care services and home-based services. The department of human services is directed to seek the waiver(s) in order to claim federal financial participation for the services that shall be provided to residents of the state who are deemed to be in need of adult day care services and/or home-based services and whose incomes are no greater than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty level.

(d) Upon receipt of the waiver approval(s) referred to in subsection (c) above from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the department of human services shall file with the house and senate finance committees a report of the terms and conditions of these approved waiver(s) together with a detailed plan for the implementation of them within the aggregate general revenue appropriations for adult day care and home-based services benefits and administrative costs provided for in the enacted budget for state fiscal year 2003; and, provided further, that any reallocations of these general revenue appropriations between or among departments and/or appropriation line items necessary to implement the approved waiver(s), and/or adjustments to federal revenue appropriations consistent with these waiver approval(s), shall be submitted to the general assembly by the governor in the supplemental appropriations act for state fiscal year 2003 in accordance with § 35-3-8.