Bill Text: WV SB198 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requiring Medicaid dental coverage for mothers of newborns
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-25 - To Finance [SB198 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2012-SB198-Introduced.html
Senate Bill No. 198
(By Senators Stollings, Laird, Miller, Palumbo, Prezioso, Wills, Yost, Kessler (Mr. President), Foster and Barnes)
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[Introduced January 16, 2012; referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §9-5-12a, relating to the Department of Health and Human Resources and Medicaid; and requiring the coverage by Medicaid of dental services for the mother of a child who is the recipient of Medicaid services.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §9-5-12a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
§9-5-12a. Medicaid program; dental coverage for mothers of newborn infants.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the good health of a mother is essential to the health and development of a child. An essential part of basic overall good health is good oral health and ensuring good oral health of a mother is a cost effective way to ensure that newborns and children under the age of two start life on a healthy course. Providing oral health to a mother will not only keep her healthier but will also help improve the health status of the next generation of West Virginians.
(b) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources shall extend Medicaid coverage for basic and emergency dental care to any mother of a child who is a recipient of Medicaid services during pregnancy effective July 1, 2012.
(c) For the purposes of this section, basic and emergency dental care shall include the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity and maxillofacial area.
(d) Any woman who establishes eligibility under this section shall continue to be treated as an eligible individual without regard to any change in income of the family of which she is member for two fulls years following the birth of her child.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of Health and Human Resources and Medicaid to provide dental coverage to an eligible mother for two years following the birth of her child.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
This bill was recommended for passage during the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature by the Joint Committee on Health.
