An Act To Allow Parents of Minors Who Qualify for In-home Personal Care under the MaineCare Program To Be Employed as Caregivers for Those Minors
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1936
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: RILEY, LIBBY, CRAVEN, FAY, MEYER, STOVER, CLAXTON
Amends: 22 MRSA §3174-E

Legislative Document
No. 1936
H.P. 1380
House of Representatives, January 8, 2020
An Act To Allow Parents of Minors Who Qualify for In-home 
Personal Care under the MaineCare Program To Be Employed as 
Caregivers for Those Minors
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203.
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative RILEY of Jay.
Cosponsored by Senator LIBBY of Androscoggin and
Representatives: CRAVEN of Lewiston, FAY of Raymond, MEYER of Eliot, STOVER of 
Boothbay, Senator: CLAXTON of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3174-EEE is enacted to read:
§3174-EEE.  In-home personal care services to minors
1.  Reimbursement for parent.  A parent of a child who is eligible for in-home 
personal care services under the MaineCare program may register as a personal care 
agency as defined in section 1717, subsection 1, paragraph C and determined in 
department rule and receive reimbursement for providing those services to the child.
2.  Employer designation.  In order for a parent to be registered as a personal care 
agency under subsection 1, another individual who is not a parent of the child must be 
designated the employer.  The person designated as the employer must be approved by 
both the department and the parent to act in the child's interest.
3.  Rulemaking.  The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  Department of Health and Human Services to seek federal 
approval.  The Department of Health and Human Services shall seek any necessary 
state plan amendments or waivers from the United States Department of Health and 
Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3174-EEE.  The department shall submit the requests 
for approval no later than 6 months after the effective date of this Act.
Sec. 3.  Rulemaking.  The Department of Health and Human Services shall adopt 
rules in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3174-EEE, 
subsection 3 no later than 6 months after receiving the necessary approvals from the 
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services.
Sec. 4.  Contingent effective date.  That section of this Act that enacts the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3174-EEE takes effect only if the necessary approvals 
sought pursuant to section 2 of this Act are received.  The Commissioner of Health and 
Human Services shall notify the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Senate, Clerk of the 
House of Representatives and Revisor of Statutes when approvals sought under section 2 
have been received.
SUMMARY
This bill allows for the reimbursement of a parent providing in-home personal care 
services to the parent's child by allowing the parent to register as a personal care agency.  
The child must be eligible for the MaineCare program.  An individual who is not a parent 
of the child must be designated as the employer and must be approved as the employer by 
both the parent and the Department of Health and Human Services.  The department is 
required to request the necessary state plan amendments or waivers from the federal 
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
and adopt routine technical rules upon federal approval.