SB 482

General Assembly  Raised Bill No. 482
 February Session, 2026  LCO No. 2957
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
  (HS)
 AN ACT CONCERNING LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT OF MEDICAID
 WAIVERS, MEDICAID STATE PLAN AMENDMENTS AND OTHER
 FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
1Section 1. Section 17b-8 of the general statutes is repealed and the
2     following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
3(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall submit an application
4    for a federal waiver or renewal of such waiver of any assistance program
5    requirements, except such application pertaining to routine operational
6    issues, and any proposed amendment to the Medicaid state plan to
7    make a change in program requirements that would have required a
8    waiver were it not for the passage of the Patient Protection and
9    Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, and the Health Care and Education
10    Reconciliation Act of 2010, P.L. 111-152 to the joint standing committees
11    of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to
12    human services and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies,
13    and, for the waiver application required under section 17b-312, the joint
14    standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of
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15 matters relating to insurance, prior to the submission of such application
16 or proposed amendment to the federal government. Not later than thirty
17 days after the date of their receipt of such application or proposed
18 amendment, the joint standing committees shall: (1) Hold a public
19 hearing on the waiver application, or (2) in the case of a proposed
20 amendment to the Medicaid state plan, notify the Commissioner of
21 Social Services whether or not said joint standing committees intend to
22 hold a public hearing. Any notice to the commissioner indicating that
23 the joint standing committees intend to hold a public hearing on a
24 proposed amendment to the Medicaid state plan shall state the date on
25 which the joint standing committees intend to hold such public hearing,
26 which shall not be later than sixty days after the joint standing
27 committees' receipt of the proposed amendment. At the conclusion of a
28 public hearing held in accordance with the provisions of this section, the
29 joint standing committees shall advise the commissioner of their
30 approval, denial or modifications, if any, of the commissioner's waiver
31 application or proposed amendment. If the joint standing committees
32 advise the commissioner of their denial of the commissioner's waiver
33 application or proposed amendment, the commissioner shall not submit
34 the application for a federal waiver or proposed amendment to the
35 federal government. If such committees do not concur, the committee
36 chairpersons shall appoint a committee of conference which shall be
37 composed of three members from each joint standing committee. At
38 least one member appointed from each joint standing committee shall
39 be a member of the minority party. The report of the committee of
40 conference shall be made to each joint standing committee, which shall
41 vote to accept or reject the report. The report of the committee of
42 conference may not be amended. If a joint standing committee rejects
43 the report of the committee of conference, that joint standing committee
44 shall notify the commissioner of the rejection and the commissioner's
45 waiver application or proposed amendment shall be deemed approved.
46 If the joint standing committees accept the report, the committee having
47 cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state
48 agencies shall advise the commissioner of their approval, denial or
49 modifications, if any, of the commissioner's waiver application or
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50 proposed amendment. If the joint standing committees do not so advise
51 the commissioner during the thirty-day period, the waiver application
52 or proposed amendment shall be deemed approved. Any application
53 for a federal waiver, waiver renewal or proposed amendment submitted
54 to the federal government by the commissioner, pursuant to this section,
55 shall be in accordance with the approval or modifications, if any, of the
56 joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance
57 of matters relating to human services and appropriations and the
58 budgets of state agencies, and, for the waiver application required under
59 section 17b-312, the joint standing committee of the General Assembly
60 having cognizance of matters relating to insurance.
61    (b) The Commissioner of Social Services shall annually, not later than
62 December fifteenth, notify the joint standing committee of the General
63 Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and
64 the budgets of state agencies and the joint standing committee of the
65 General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human
66 services of potential Medicaid waivers and amendments to the
67 Medicaid state plan that may result in a cost savings for the state. The
68 commissioner shall notify the committees of the possibility of any
69 Medicaid waiver application or proposed amendment to the Medicaid
70 state plan that the commissioner is considering in developing a budget
71 for the next fiscal year or any other application subject to the provisions
72 of subsection (e) of this section before the commissioner submits such
73 budget for legislative approval.
74    (c) Thirty days prior to submission of an application for a waiver from
75 federal law, renewal of such waiver or proposed amendment to the joint
76 standing committees of the General Assembly under subsection (a) of
77 this section, the Commissioner of Social Services shall publish a notice
78 that the commissioner intends to seek such a waiver or waiver renewal,
79 or submit a proposed amendment to the federal government in the
80 Connecticut Law Journal and on the Department of Social Services'
81 Internet web site, along with a summary of the provisions of the waiver
82 application or the proposed amendment and the manner in which
83 individuals may submit comments. The commissioner shall allow thirty
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84 days for written comments on the waiver application or proposed
85 amendment prior to submission of the application for a waiver, waiver
86 renewal or proposed amendment to the General Assembly under
87 subsection (a) of this section and shall include all written comments with
88 the waiver, waiver renewal application or proposed amendment in the
89 submission to the General Assembly.
90    (d) The commissioner shall include with any waiver application or
91 proposed amendment submitted to the federal government pursuant to
92 this section: (1) Any written comments received pursuant to subsection
93 (c) of this section; and (2) any additional written comments submitted
94 to the joint standing committees at such proceedings. The joint standing
95 committees shall transmit any such materials to the commissioner for
96 inclusion with any such waiver application or proposed amendment.
97    (e) Except for federal block grant applications subject to the
98 provisions of section 4-28b, in addition to applications submitted to the
99 federal government for Medicaid waivers and Medicaid state plan
100 amendments, the Commissioner of Social Services shall submit any
101 application for or related to federal funding for programs administered
102 by the commissioner to the joint standing committees of the General
103 Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and
104 the budgets of state agencies and human services not later than thirty
105 days before submission to the federal government. Said committees
106 may hold a hearing and schedule a vote on such application in
107 accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.
  This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
  sections:
  Section 1      July 1, 2026  17b-8
 HS  Joint Favorable
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