Authorizes the secretary of the executive office of health and human services (EOHHS) to increase resource eligibility limits for persons with long-term care needs who reside at home to $12,000 for single persons and $18,000 for couples.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would allow the head of Rhode Island's health and human services agency to raise the amount of money and assets a person can have while still qualifying for Medicaid-funded, home-based long-term care services. Under this proposal, a single person could have up to $12,000 in resources (such as savings) and still be eligible, while a married couple could have up to $18,000. These limits currently apply to people who need long-term care assistance but want to remain living in their own homes rather than moving to a nursing facility.

This bill primarily affects lower-income Rhode Islanders who need ongoing care at home — such as help with daily tasks like bathing, dressing, or managing medications — and who rely on Medicaid to pay for those services. Under current rules, people with more than a certain amount of savings are not eligible for this assistance. By raising those limits, the bill would allow people with modest savings to qualify without first having to spend down nearly all of their money.

The bill has been introduced and sent to the House Finance Committee, meaning it is in the early stages of the legislative process and has not yet been voted on. If passed, it would give the EOHHS secretary the authority — though not necessarily the requirement — to put these new, higher limits into effect.