HBA-DMD, NLM, BTC H.B. 820 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 820 By: Naishtat Human Services 11/1/1999 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, children of families receiving financial assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are provided with Medicaid coverage relating to the TANF grant. Upon the termination of TANF benefits, the Medicaid coverage associated with these benefits also expires. Because many families may not be aware that their children may be eligible for insurance coverage under a different Medicaid category, their children may go without health insurance or experience gaps in their coverage. H.B. 820 requires the Health and Human Services Commission or an agency operating part of the medical assistance program (department) to automatically review a child's eligibility for medical assistance if the child's Medicaid benefits are lost due to the loss of the family's entire TANF grant. This bill also authorizes the department to provide for provisional eligibility for medical assistance for the child, for no longer than one month, pending a recertification review, in certain circumstances. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, by adding Section 32.0251, as follows: Sec. 32.0251. ELIGIBILITY NOTIFICATION AND REVIEW FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN. (a) Requires the Health and Human Services Commission or an agency operating part of the medical assistance program, as appropriate (department) to establish and implement procedures under which the department automatically reviews a child's eligibility for medical assistance, if the child originally establishes eligibility for medical assistance on the basis of receipt of financial assistance under Chapter 31 (Financial Assistance and Service Programs), as provided by Section 32.025(a), and that receipt of financial assistance under Chapter 31 ceases. (b) Authorizes the department to provide for provisional eligibility for medical assistance for the child pending a recertification review, provided that the review indicates that the child may be eligible for medical assistance on a basis other than receipt of financial assistance under Chapter 31. Prohibits the provisional eligibility period authorized by this subsection from exceeding one month. (c) Requires the department, in addition to the review required by this section, to also promote continued medical assistance for a child described by Subsection (a) through: (1) revising client education and notification policies relating to a child's eligibility for medical assistance; and (2) providing specific notification of a child's potential eligibility for medical assistance to the child's parent or other caretaker at the time the parent or caretaker is notified of a scheduled eligibility recertification review or the termination of financial assistance. SECTION 2. Provides that this Act takes effect only if a specific appropriation for the implementation of this Act is provided in H.B. No. 1 (General Appropriations Act), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999. Provides that this Act has no effect, if no specific appropriation is provided in H.B. No. 1, the General Appropriations Act. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.