Exception helping individuals with disabilities pursue work extended

Certain individuals with disabilities who have recently graduated and wish to seek work would have a special disability funding increase aimed to helping them extended past its current sunset date under a bill passed 126-0 Wednesday by the House.

A 2012 law allowed the Department of Human Services to amend the home and community-based services waiver to calculate benefits differently for certain individuals with disabilities.

Rep. Tara Mack

Individuals with disabilities who are at least 21 years old and graduated from high school between 2013 and 2015 received a 20 percent increase in their funding. However, the exception is limited to individuals who would be forced to move onto other waiver services if they want to work because the current calculation of their benefits is insufficient. The rule is set to sunset on June 30, 2017.

Sponsored by Rep. Tara Mack (R-Apple Valley) and Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan), HF3276/SF2881* would extend the benefits to whenever the federal government approves a similar, broader exception included in last year’s health and human services law. It is unknown when the federal government will approve the change.

The bill would also extend when an individual eligible for the 2012 provision must graduate to anytime between 2013 and whenever the federal government approves the 2015 provision.

Passed 57-0 on May 10 by the Senate, the bill heads to the governor.

Mack said the bill is meant to keep existing law in effect and prevent eligible individuals with disabilities from losing this benefit simply because they turn 21.