H.B. No. 109

AN ACT

relating to eligibility for and information regarding the child health plan program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 62.002(4), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(4) "Net [Gross] family income" means the [total] amount of income established for a family after reduction for offsets for child care expenses, in accordance with standards applicable under the Medicaid [without consideration of any reduction for offsets that may be available to the family under any other] program.

SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 62.056 to read as follows:

Sec. 62.056. COMMUNITY OUTREACH CAMPAIGN; TOLL-FREE HOTLINE. (a) The commission shall conduct a community outreach and education campaign to provide information relating to the availability of health benefits for children under this chapter. The commission shall conduct the campaign in a manner that promotes enrollment in, and minimizes duplication of effort among, all state-administered child health programs.

(b) The community outreach campaign must include:

(1) outreach efforts that involve school-based health clinics;

(2) a toll-free telephone number through which families may obtain information about health benefits coverage for children; and

(3) information regarding the importance of each conservator of a child promptly informing the other conservator of the child about the child's health benefits coverage.

(c) The commission shall contract with community-based organizations or coalitions of community-based organizations to implement the community outreach campaign and shall also promote and encourage voluntary efforts to implement the community outreach campaign. The commission shall procure the contracts through a process designed by the commission to encourage broad participation of organizations, including organizations that target population groups with high levels of uninsured children.

(d) The commission may direct that the Department of State Health Services perform all or part of the community outreach campaign.

(e) The commission shall ensure that information provided under this section is available in both English and Spanish.

SECTION 3. Section 62.101, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b) The commission shall establish income eligibility levels consistent with Title XXI, Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1397aa et seq.), as amended, and any other applicable law or regulations, and subject to the availability of appropriated money, so that a child who is younger than 19 years of age and whose net [gross] family income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level is eligible for health benefits coverage under the program. In addition, the commission may establish eligibility standards regarding the amount and types of allowable assets for a family whose net [gross] family income is above 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

(b-1) The eligibility standards adopted under Subsection (b) related to allowable assets:

(1) must allow a family to own at least $10,000 in allowable assets; and

(2) may not in calculating the amount of allowable assets under Subdivision (1) consider:

(A) the value of one vehicle that qualifies for an exemption under commission rule based on its use;

(B) the value of a second or subsequent vehicle that qualifies for an exemption under commission rule based on its use if:

(i) the vehicle is worth $18,000 or less; or

(ii) the vehicle has been modified to provide transportation for a household member with a disability;

(C) if no vehicle qualifies for an exemption based on its use under commission rule, the first $18,000 of value of the highest valued vehicle; or

(D) the first $7,500 of value of any vehicle not described by Paragraph (A), (B), or (C).

SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 62.1011 to read as follows:

Sec. 62.1011. VERIFICATION OF INCOME. The commission shall continue employing methods of verifying the net income of the individuals considered in the calculation of an applicant's net family income. The commission shall verify income under this section unless the applicant reports a net family income that exceeds the income eligibility level established under Section 62.101(b).

SECTION 5. Section 62.102, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 62.102. CONTINUOUS COVERAGE. (a) Subject to a review under Subsection (b), the [The] commission shall provide that an individual who is determined to be eligible for coverage under the child health plan remains eligible for those benefits until the earlier of:

(1) the end of a period not to exceed 12 months, beginning the first day of the month [the six-month period] following the date of the eligibility determination; or

(2) the individual's 19th birthday.

(b) During the sixth month following the date of initial enrollment or reenrollment of an individual whose net family income exceeds 185 percent of the federal poverty level, the commission shall:

(1) review the individual's net family income and may use electronic technology if available and appropriate; and

(2) continue to provide coverage if the individual's net family income does not exceed the income eligibility limits prescribed by this chapter.

(c) If, during the review required under Subsection (b), the commission determines that the individual's net family income exceeds the income eligibility limits prescribed by this chapter, the commission may not disenroll the individual until:

(1) the commission has provided the family an opportunity to demonstrate that the family's net family income is within the income eligibility limits prescribed by this chapter; and

(2) the family fails to demonstrate such eligibility.

(d) The commission shall provide written notice of termination of eligibility to the individual not later than the 30th day before the date the individual's eligibility terminates.

SECTION 6. Sections 62.154(a) and (d), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) To the extent permitted under Title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1397aa et seq.), as amended, and any other applicable law or regulations, the child health plan must include a waiting period and[. The child health plan] may include copayments and other provisions intended to discourage:

(1) employers and other persons from electing to discontinue offering coverage for children under employee or other group health benefit plans; and

(2) individuals with access to adequate health benefit plan coverage, other than coverage under the child health plan, from electing not to obtain or to discontinue that coverage for a child.

(d) The waiting period required by Subsection (a) must:

(1) extend for a period of 90 days after[:

[(1)] the last date on [first day of the month in] which the applicant was covered under a health benefits plan; and

(2) apply to a child who was covered by a health benefits plan at any time during the 90 days before the date of application for coverage under the child health plan [is enrolled under the child health plan, if the date of enrollment is on or before the 15th day of the month; or

[(2) the first day of the month after which the applicant is enrolled under the child health plan, if the date of enrollment is after the 15th day of the month].

SECTION 7. To ensure the reliability and accuracy of the review process, the Health and Human Services Commission shall phase in the review required by Subsection (b), Section 62.102, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, with full implementation not later than September 1, 2008.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 109 was passed by the House on April 4, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 17, 2 present, not voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to H.B. No. 109 on May 24, 2007, and requested the appointment of a conference committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 109 on May 27, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 134, Nays 14, 1 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 109 was passed by the Senate, with amendments, on May 22, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 109 on May 27, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________

Date

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Governor