Bill Text: TX SR542 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Suspending limitations on conference committee jurisdiction, H.B. No. 2658.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-05-30 - Reported enrolled [SR542 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SR542-Enrolled.html

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By: Kolkhorst S.R. No. 542

SENATE RESOLUTION
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, That Senate Rule 12.03 be
suspended in part as provided by Senate Rule 12.08 to enable the
conference committee appointed to resolve the differences on
House Bill 2658 (the Medicaid program, including the
administration and operation of the Medicaid managed care
program) to consider and take action on the following matter:
Senate Rule 12.03(4) is suspended to permit the committee
to add text on a matter not included in either the house or senate
version of the bill by adding the following new SECTION to the
bill:
SECTION 8. Section 32.0261, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0261. CONTINUOUS ELIGIBILITY. (a) This section
applies only to a child younger than 19 years of age who is
determined eligible for medical assistance under this chapter.
(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules in
accordance with 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(e)(12), as amended, to
provide for two consecutive periods of [a period of continuous]
eligibility for a child between each certification and
recertification of the child's eligibility, subject to
Subsections (f) and (h) [under 19 years of age who is determined
to be eligible for medical assistance under this chapter].
(c) The first of the two consecutive periods of
eligibility described by Subsection (b) must be continuous in
accordance with Subsection (d). The second of the two
consecutive periods of eligibility is not continuous and may be
affected by changes in a child's household income, regardless of
whether those changes occurred or whether the commission became
aware of the changes during the first or second of the two
consecutive periods of eligibility.
(d) A [The rules shall provide that the] child remains
eligible for medical assistance during the first of the two
consecutive periods of eligibility, without additional review by
the commission and regardless of changes in the child's household
[resources or] income, until [the earlier of:
[(1)] the end of the six-month period following the
date on which the child's eligibility was determined, except as
provided by Subsections (f)(1) and (h) [; or
[(2) the child's 19th birthday].
(e) During the sixth month following the date on which a
child's eligibility for medical assistance is certified or
recertified, the commission shall, in a manner that complies with
federal law, including verification plan requirements under 42
C.F.R. Section 435.945(j), review the child's household income
using electronic income data available to the commission. The
commission may conduct this review only once during the child's
two consecutive periods of eligibility. Based on the review:
(1) the commission shall, if the review indicates
that the child's household income does not exceed the maximum
income for eligibility for the medical assistance program,
provide for a second consecutive period of eligibility for the
child until the child's required annual recertification, except
as provided by Subsection (h) and subject to Subsection (c); or
(2) the commission may, if the review indicates that
the child's household income exceeds the maximum income for
eligibility for the medical assistance program, request
additional documentation to verify the child's household income
in a manner that complies with federal law.
(f) If, after reviewing a child's household income under
Subsection (e), the commission determines that the household
income exceeds the maximum income for eligibility for the medical
assistance program, the commission shall continue to provide
medical assistance to the child until:
(1) the commission provides the child's parent or
guardian with a period of not less than 30 days to provide
documentation demonstrating that the child's household income
does not exceed the maximum income for eligibility; and
(2) the child's parent or guardian fails to provide
the documentation during the period described by Subdivision
(1).
(g) If a child's parent or guardian provides to the
commission within the period described by Subsection (f)
documentation demonstrating that the child's household income
does not exceed the maximum income for eligibility for the
medical assistance program, the commission shall provide for a
second consecutive period of eligibility for the child until the
child's required annual recertification, except as provided by
Subsection (h) and subject to Subsection (c).
(h) Notwithstanding any other period prescribed by this
section, a child's eligibility for medical assistance ends on the
child's 19th birthday.
(i) The commission may not recertify a child's
eligibility for medical assistance more frequently than every 12
months as required by federal law.
(j) If a child's parent or guardian fails to provide to
the commission within the period described by Subsection (f)
documentation demonstrating that the child's household income
does not exceed the maximum income for eligibility for the
medical assistance program, the commission shall provide the
child's parent or guardian with written notice of termination
following that period. The notice must include a statement that
the child may be eligible for enrollment in the child health plan
under Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code.
(k) In developing the notice, the commission shall
consult with health care providers, children's health care
advocates, family members of children enrolled in the medical
assistance program, and other stakeholders to determine the most
user-friendly method to provide the notice to a child's parent or
guardian.
(l) The executive commissioner may adopt rules as
necessary to implement this section.
Explanation: This addition is necessary to provide for
continuous eligibility and a periodic eligibility review for a
child for Medicaid.
_______________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on May 30, 2021, by
the following vote: Yeas 31,
Nays 0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate