Page 385
House Bill No. 5506
Public Act No. 22-118 385 of 739
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): The Commissioner of Social Services shall, within the ten million dollars in federal funds allocated to the Department of Social Services pursuant to section 1 of special act 21-1, in accordance with the provisions of Subtitle M of Title IX of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117-2, as amended from time to time, provide temporary financial relief to nursing home facilities. [Grant allocations shall be made based on the per cent difference between the issued and calculated reimbursement rate. The commissioner, within the available ten million dollars in federal funding allocated to the department for this purpose, shall issue one-time grants subject to a pro rata adjustment based on available funding.] Sec. 243. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section, (1) "authorized representative" means a person designated by a home care client, in writing, to act on such client's behalf, including, but not limited to, a health care representative appointed pursuant to section 19a-575a or 19a-577 of the general statutes; (2) "home care" means long-term services and supports provided to adults in a home or community- based program administered by the Department of Social Services; (3) "home care provider" means a person or organization, including, but not limited to, (A) a home health agency or hospice agency, as defined in section 19a-490 of the general statutes, or (B) a homemaker-companion agency, as defined in section 20-670 of the general statutes; and (4) "long- term services and supports" means (A) health, health-related, personal care and social services provided to persons with physical, cognitive or mental health conditions or disabilities to facilitate optimal functioning and quality of life, or (B) hospice care provided to persons who may be nearing the end of their lives. (b) There is established a Community Ombudsman program within the independent Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman,