(i) The executive office shall implement, no later than January 1, 2024, a statewide network and rate methodology for conflict-free case management for individuals receiving Medicaid-funded home and community-based services. The executive office shall coordinate implementation with the state's health and human services departments and divisions authorized to deliver Medicaid-funded home and community-based service programs, including the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals; the department of human services; and the office of healthy aging. It is in the best interest of the Rhode Islanders eligible to receive Medicaid home and community-based services under this chapter, chapter 40.1, chapter 42 or any other general laws to provide equitable access to conflict-free case management that shall include person-centered planning, service arranging and quality monitoring in the amount, duration and scope required by federal law and regulations. It is necessary to ensure that there is a robust network of qualified conflict-free case management entities with the capacity to serve all participants on a statewide basis and in a manner that promotes choice, self-reliance, and community integration. The executive office, as the designated single state Medicaid authority and agency responsible for coordinating policy and planning for health and human services under § 42-7.2 et seq., is directed to establish a statewide conflict-free case management network under the management of the executive office and to seek any Medicaid waivers, state plan amendments and changes in rules, regulations and procedures that may be necessary to ensure that recipients of Medicaid home and community-based services have access to conflict-free case management in a timely manner and in accordance with the federal requirements that must be met to preserve financial participation. The executive office is also authorized, subject to availability of appropriation of funding, and federal, Medicaid-matching funds, to pay for certain services and supports necessary to transition or divert beneficiaries from institutional or restrictive settings and optimize their health and safety when receiving care in a home or the community. The secretary is authorized to obtain any state plan or waiver authorities required to maximize the federal funds available to support expanded access to home- and community-transition and stabilization services; provided, however, payments shall not exceed an annual or per-person amount.