(1) Roads to community living (RCL) is a demonstration project authorized under Section 6071 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) and extended through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148).

(2) Program rules governing functional eligibility for RCL are described in WAC 388-106-0250 through 388-106-0265. RCL services are authorized by the department.

(3) A person must have a stay of at least sixty consecutive days in a qualified institutional setting such as a hospital, nursing home, or residential habilitation center, to be eligible for RCL. The sixty-day count excludes days paid solely by medicare, must include at least one day of medicaid paid inpatient services immediately prior to discharge, and the person must be eligible to receive any categorically needy (CN), medically needy (MN), or alternate benefit plan (ABP) medicaid program on the day of discharge. In addition to meeting the sixty-day criteria, a person who is being discharged from a state psychiatric hospital must be under age twenty-two or over age sixty-four.

(4) Once a person is discharged to home or to a residential setting under RCL, the person remains continuously eligible for medical coverage for three hundred sixty-five days unless the person:

(a) Returns to an institution for thirty days or longer;

(b) Is incarcerated in a public jail or prison;

(c) No longer wants RCL services;

(d) Moves out-of-state; or

(e) Dies.

(5) Changes in income or resources during the continuous eligibility period do not affect eligibility for RCL services. Changes in income or deductions may affect the amount a person must pay toward the cost of care.

(6) A person approved for RCL is not subject to transfer of asset provisions under WAC 182-513-1363 during the continuous eligibility period, but transfer penalties may apply if the person needs HCB waiver or institutional services once the continuous eligibility period has ended.

(7) A person who is not otherwise eligible for a noninstitutional medical program must have eligibility determined using the same rules used to determine eligibility for HCB waivers. If HCB rules are used to establish eligibility, the person must pay participation toward the cost of RCL services. HCB waiver eligibility and cost of care calculations are under:

(a) WAC 182-515-1508 and 182-515-1509 for home and community services (HCS); and

(b) WAC 182-515-1513 and 182-515-1514 for development disabilities administration (DDA) services.

(8) At the end of the continuous eligibility period, the agency or its designee redetermines a person's eligibility for other programs under WAC 182-504-0125.