| TO: | Honorable David Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor, Senate |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1522 by Zaffirini (Relating to the continuous eligibility of certain children for medical assistance benefits.), As Passed 2nd House |
Estimated savings should be compared to funding levels sufficient to conform to current policies and law. Savings should not be compared to agency Initial General Revenue/Building Block requests.
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2004 | $161,241,057 |
| 2005 | $241,593,367 |
| 2006 | $75,063,202 |
| 2007 | $87,960,186 |
| 2008 | $103,102,809 |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Savings from GR MATCH FOR MEDICAID 758 |
Probable (Cost) from GR MATCH FOR MEDICAID 758 |
Probable Savings from FEDERAL FUNDS 555 |
Probable (Cost) from FEDERAL FUNDS 555 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | $161,887,860 | ($646,803) | $244,865,557 | ($5,125,545) |
| 2005 | $242,207,810 | ($614,443) | $366,660,491 | ($4,578,327) |
| 2006 | $75,677,645 | ($614,443) | $114,562,791 | ($4,811,790) |
| 2007 | $88,574,629 | ($614,443) | $134,086,581 | ($4,938,619) |
| 2008 | $103,717,252 | ($614,443) | $157,009,877 | ($5,156,068) |
Section 1 of the bill would delay implementation of 12-month continuous eligibility until no later than September 1, 2005 for certain children enrolled in Medicaid. Current law requires implementation by June 1, 2003. It is estimated that this section would result in reduced expenditures for client services and thus produce a savings.
Section 3 would allow the Department of Human Services (DHS) to use information obtained from a third party to verify the assets and resources of a person for purposes of determining the person's Medicaid eligibility. It is estimated that this section would result in a net savings. Reduced client services expenditures at the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the Department of Health (TDH) would be partially offset with increased administrative expenditures at DHS.
Potentially, either provision could indirectly impact enrollment and expenditure levels in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). However, HHSC is not currently estimating a fiscal impact to CHIP.
The following estimate is derived from the responses of HHSC and DHS.
Section 1 (12-month continuous eligibility) is estimated to produce All Funds savings of $106.7 million in fiscal year 2004 and $177.5 million in fiscal year 2005. These amounts represent the combined impact to HHSC and TDH client services. The General Revenue share would be approximately 40 percent of the savings.
Section 2 (rigorous assets) is estimated to produce the following All Funds savings: $55.2 million in fiscal year 2004, $64.7 million in fiscal year 2005, $75.7 million in fiscal year 2006, $88.6 million in fiscal 2007, and $103.7 million in fiscal year 2008. These amounts represent the combined impact to HHSC and TDH client services. The General Revenue share would be approximately 40 percent of the savings.
Section 2 (rigorous assets) is estimated to result in increased administrative expenditures at DHS, including the following All Funds amounts: $1.3 million in fiscal year 2004, $1.2 million in fiscal year 2005 and in each fiscal year thereafter. The General Revenue share would be approximately 50 percent of the increased expenditures. Expenditures include "data broker" services and a one-time expense (occurring in fiscal year 2004) of approximately $65,000 in All Funds for information technology modifications.
| Source Agencies: | 324 Department of Human Services, 529 Health and Human Services Commission
|
| LBB Staff: | JK, KF, AJ, JO, SD, PP
|