| TO: | Honorable Patrick M. Rose, Chair, House Committee on Human Services |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB740 by Naishtat (Relating to certain state health care programs for children.), As Introduced |
The bill would require the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to develop eligibility screening and enrollment procedures for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid that ensure that children are simultaneously screened for both programs and automatically enrolled in the appropriate program. It further requires that a child who becomes ineligible for CHIP or Medicaid be screened for eligibility for the other program before current benefits are terminated; if the child is found eligible for the other program, they must be enrolled in that program unless the child's parent or caretaker objects. Current statute requiring HHSC to report on children applying for CHIP who are referred to Medicaid is repealed.
HHSC indicates that no provision of the bill would represent a change to current policy; there would be no fiscal impact to maintain current policies.
| Source Agencies: | 529 Health and Human Services Commission
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, PP, LR
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