SB 214

This bill creates an ineligibility period for the Medical Assistance and

FoodShare programs for certain employment terminations. The MA program,

known also as the federal Medicaid program, provides health care services to

individuals who have limited financial resources. The FoodShare program, also

known as the food stamp program or the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program, provides financial assistance to individuals with limited financial

resources for the purchase of food.

Under the bill, an able-bodied adult who is not eligible for the MA program and

who voluntarily terminates legal, paid employment continues to be ineligible for the

MA program for six months from the date the able-bodied adult receives the last

paycheck from that employment. The bill establishes in the FoodShare program the

same six-month ineligibility period resulting from voluntary employment

termination by an able-bodied adult. The ineligibility period under the bill does not

apply if the Department of Health Services determines that the individual

terminated employment for one of the same reasons that a voluntary termination

does not create an ineligibility period for unemployment benefits. Those reasons

include voluntary termination for the following: termination in lieu of termination

of another employee; request, suggestion, or directive by the employer to violate the

law; sexual harassment; illness or disability of the employee; illness or disability of

a family member that requires the care of a family member; change of work hours

leading to a lack of child care; termination of employment that the employee could

have refused to accept under current unemployment benefits law; termination that

was concurrent with honorable discharge from the U.S. armed forces; concerns about

personal safety or harassment accompanied by certain proof of the concerns; or

termination that was the result of the relocation of a spouse in the U.S. armed forces

on active duty.

Under the bill, an able-bodied adult who, while being ineligible for the MA or

FoodShare program, voluntarily terminates legal, paid employment, subsequently

accepts new legal, paid employment, and is then involuntarily terminated or laid off

is not ineligible for either program. Further, the bill specifies that any individual to

whom the bill applies continues to be eligible for any program or public service the

purpose of which is to train or prepare the individual for employment.

The bill requires DHS, which administers both the MA and FoodShare

programs, to seek approval from the federal government to implement these

ineligibility periods, if federal approval is required.