HB 2945 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

developmental disabilities; appropriations; waivers

HB 2945 modifies Arizona's Medicaid waiver processes for developmental disabilities services. It requires implementing a 40-hour weekly care limit per child under the "Parents as Paid Caregivers" program starting June 30, 2025, as approved by federal authorities. The bill also mandates submitting a waiver request by October 1, 2025, to reduce this limit to 20 hours per week, clarifying that this change does not restrict total available care hours. The legislation directly affects families using this program for developmental disabilities support and aligns Arizona's Medicaid waiver procedures with federal requirements.

Issues: ✗ Healthcare

Sub-Topics: Medicaid

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2025

Committee Review

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Apr 7, 2025 Signed Apr 24, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Engrossed Version → Chaptered Version · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill was formatted and finalized into Chapter 93 after passing the House. The substantive policy content remains largely the same, though some text formatting was standardized and a new subsection was added to the waiver requirements. The bill establishes rules for parents to be paid caregivers for their disabled children, sets limits on care hours, and requires legislative approval before expanding Medicaid waivers.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the Parents as Paid Caregivers program and Medicaid waiver requirements, with no significant changes to applicability.

TECHNICAL

Text formatting and capitalization were standardized throughout the document, converting all-caps text to sentence case and removing redundant headers.

REQUIREMENT

A new subsection C was added to Section 36-3302, requiring the administration to monitor utilization for three years if changes are not subject to legislative approval, and to notify officials if utilization increases by more than 10%.

New Section 36-3312 was added, requiring parents to be Arizona residents for at least six months to be eligible for the Parents as Paid Caregivers program.

New Section 36-3311 was added, implementing a limit of forty hours of care services per week per child beginning June 30, 2025.

FISCAL

Funding appropriations for the developmental disabilities Medicaid program were maintained at $109,200,300 from the prescription drug rebate fund and $403,000,000 from developmental disabilities Medicaid expenditure authority for fiscal year 2024-2025.

TIMELINE

The special audit of the Parents as Paid Caregivers program must be completed by August 1, 2026, and the section is repealed after December 31, 2026.

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version · 9 edits · Apr 24, 2025

MAJOR

This bill significantly expands legislative oversight and reporting requirements for Arizona's developmental disabilities programs, particularly the Parents as Paid Caregivers program. It adds new definitions, establishes stricter approval processes for federal waiver changes, and requires detailed quarterly reporting on program utilization. The bill also appropriates additional funding for developmental disabilities services and mandates a special audit of the caregivers program.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of legislative oversight to include all state agencies receiving federal monies, not just those administering developmental disabilities programs. It also adds new eligibility requirements for parents providing care under the paid caregivers program.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'Administration', 'Department', 'Parent', and 'Program' in the Parents as Paid Caregivers article to clarify who qualifies as a caregiver and what the program entails.

REQUIREMENT

Modified waiver approval requirements to mandate legislative authorization before submitting new waiver amendments or provisions that expand eligibility, add services, or increase utilization by more than 10%.

Added requirement for quarterly reporting on program utilization, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and enrollment growth to the joint legislative budget committee.

Added requirement that parents can only provide care between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. and may be employed by only a single agency.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified eligibility requirements to mandate that parents must be Arizona residents for at least six months to provide care under the paid caregivers program.

FISCAL

Added $109,200,300 from prescription drug rebate fund and $403,000,000 from developmental disabilities Medicaid expenditure authority for fiscal year 2024-2025.

ENFORCEMENT

Added requirement for special audit of the parents as paid caregivers program by the auditor general, with findings due by August 1, 2026.

TIMELINE

Modified implementation timeline to begin June 30, 2025, for the 40-hour weekly care limit, with a strengthened assessment tool required by October 1, 2025.

SCOPE

Modified scope of reporting requirements to include all state agencies receiving federal monies, not just developmental disabilities agencies.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 24, 2025 · House Apr 23, 2025

How they voted

28–1

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 30

Apr 24, 2025

D Democratic13

13 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican17

15 Yea 1 Nay 1

88% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 24, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by Governor

executive

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Apr 15, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors