HBA-NRS H.B. 3062 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3062 By: Garcia Public Health 4/3/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Although the state offers health care coverage through the child health plan (CHIP) and Medicaid, the application process for both programs is cumbersome and hinders the ability of some parents to fill out the paperwork. The application forms are lengthy and time consuming to complete. This may result in many qualified applicants abandoning the process and many qualified children being deprived of health care. House Bill 3062 prohibits an application form for Medicaid or CHIP from exceeding one page in length and requires such an application form to be written in language designed to be easily understood. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Department of Health in SECTION 1 (Section 62.103, Health and Safety Code) and to the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 2 (Section 32.025, Human Resources Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 3062 amends the Health and Safety Code to prohibit an application form requesting child health plan (CHIP) coverage from exceeding one page in length and provides that the application form must be written in simple language designed to be easily understood. The bill requires the application form to be made available in languages other than English, as determined to be appropriate by Texas Department of Health rule. In addition, the bill prohibits an application form for a request for medical assistance provided to a child younger than 19 years of age from exceeding one page in length and must be written in simple language designed to be easily understood. The bill requires the application form to be made available in languages other than English, as determined to be appropriate by Health and Human Services Commission rule. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.