Bill Text: NY S08157 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires automatic continuous enrollment in medical assistance and child health plus for previously eligible children through age five.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-25 - PRINT NUMBER 8157A [S08157 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08157-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8157--A IN SENATE January 10, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the social services law and the public health law, in relation to automatic continuous enrollment in medical assistance and the child health insurance plan for children through age five The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "keep kids 2 covered act". 3 § 2. Section 366-h of the social services law, as amended by chapter 4 121 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 366-h. Automated system; established. Notwithstanding any inconsist- 6 ent provision of law or regulation, the commissioner of health shall, as 7 soon as practicable, establish an automated system to ensure that 8 persons who meet the criteria for receipt of medical assistance benefits 9 under paragraph (a) or (c), or a child under paragraph (b), of subdivi- 10 sion four of section three hundred sixty-six of this title shall remain 11 enrolled in the medical assistance program without interruption and 12 receive the benefits set forth according to paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of 13 subdivision four of section three hundred sixty-six of this title. Pend- 14 ing implementation of such automated system, such commissioner shall, in 15 consultation with the office of temporary and disability assistance, 16 undertake and continue efforts to educate local departments of social 17 services about the measures they must take to ensure that medical 18 assistance benefits are provided to persons eligible for such benefits 19 under subdivision four of section three hundred sixty-six of this title. 20 § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 366 of the social 21 services law, as added by section 2 of part D of chapter 56 of the laws 22 of 2013, subparagraph 1 as amended by section 3 of part CCC of chapter 23 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 24 (b) Pregnant women and children. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11843-04-4S. 8157--A 2 1 (1) A pregnant woman eligible for medical assistance under subpara- 2 graph two or four of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section on 3 any day of her pregnancy will continue to be eligible for such care and 4 services for a period of one year beginning on the last day of pregnan- 5 cy, without regard to any change in the income of the family that 6 includes the pregnant woman, even if such change otherwise would have 7 rendered her ineligible for medical assistance. 8 (1-a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any child under the 9 age of six who is at any time determined to be eligible for medical 10 assistance, or who is a member of a family which was eligible for 11 medical assistance but became ineligible, shall remain continuously 12 eligible for medical assistance until the age of six and shall remain 13 continuously enrolled under section three hundred sixty-six-h of this 14 title. The department shall notify the parent or guardian of any child 15 under the age of six who is determined to be eligible for medical 16 assistance of the rights of such child to extended benefits under this 17 subparagraph. 18 (2) A child born to a woman eligible for and receiving medical assist- 19 ance on the date of the child's birth shall be deemed to have applied 20 for medical assistance and to have been found eligible for such assist- 21 ance on the date of such birth and to remain eligible for such assist- 22 ance for a period of [one year] five years, so long as the child is a 23 member of the woman's household [and the woman remains eligible for such24assistance or would remain eligible for such assistance if she were25pregnant]. 26 (3) A child over the age of six and under the age of nineteen who is 27 determined eligible for medical assistance under the provisions of this 28 section, shall, consistent with applicable federal requirements, remain 29 eligible for such assistance until the earlier of: 30 (i) the last day of the month which is twelve months following the 31 determination or redetermination of eligibility for such assistance; or 32 (ii) the last day of the month in which the child reaches the age of 33 nineteen. 34 (4) An infant eligible under subparagraph two or four of paragraph (b) 35 of subdivision one of this section who is receiving medically necessary 36 in-patient services for which medical assistance is provided on the date 37 the child attains one year of age, and who, but for attaining such age, 38 would remain eligible for medical assistance under such subparagraph, 39 shall continue to remain eligible until the end of the stay for which 40 in-patient services are being furnished or until age six, whichever is 41 later. 42 (5) A child eligible under subparagraph three of paragraph (b) of 43 subdivision one of this section who is receiving medically necessary 44 in-patient services for which medical assistance is provided on the date 45 the child attains nineteen years of age, and who, but for attaining such 46 age, would remain eligible for medical assistance under this paragraph, 47 shall continue to remain eligible until the end of the stay for which 48 in-patient services are being furnished. 49 (6) A woman who was pregnant while in receipt of medical assistance 50 who subsequently loses her eligibility for medical assistance shall have 51 her eligibility for medical assistance continued for a period of twen- 52 ty-four months from the end of the month in which the sixtieth day 53 following the end of her pregnancy occurs, but only for Federal Title X 54 services which are eligible for reimbursement by the federal government 55 at a rate of ninety percent; provided, however, that such ninety percent 56 limitation shall not apply to those services identified by the commis-S. 8157--A 3 1 sioner as services, including treatment for sexually transmitted 2 diseases, generally performed as part of or as a follow-up to a service 3 eligible for such ninety percent reimbursement; and provided further, 4 however, that nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to affect 5 payment for such Title X services if federal financial participation is 6 not available for such care, services and supplies. 7 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 2511 of the public health law is 8 amended by adding a new paragraph (k) to read as follows: 9 (k) A child under the age of six who is at any time determined to be 10 eligible for coverage under this title, shall, subject to federal finan- 11 cial participation, remain continuously eligible for coverage through 12 the last day of the month in which the child reaches the age of six. The 13 department shall notify the parent or guardian of any child under the 14 age of six who is determined to be eligible for benefits under 15 this title of the rights of such child to extended benefits under this 16 paragraph. 17 § 5. The commissioner of health shall, to the extent necessary, submit 18 the appropriate waivers, including, but not limited to, those authorized 19 pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen of the federal social securi- 20 ty act, or successor provisions, and any other waivers necessary to 21 achieve the purposes of this act necessary to secure federal funding. 22 § 6. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 23 have become a law.