82R7449 SJM-D
By: Ellis S.B. No. 1259
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for medical
assistance on confinement in, placement in, detention in, or
commitment to and release from certain facilities and other
settings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.0261, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0261. CONTINUOUS ELIGIBILITY. The department shall
adopt rules in accordance with 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(e)(12), as
amended, to provide for a period of continuous eligibility for a
child under 19 years of age who is determined to be eligible for
medical assistance under this chapter. The rules shall provide
that the child remains eligible for medical assistance, without
additional review by the department and regardless of changes in
the child's 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, excluding any
period during which the child's eligibility was suspended as
provided by Section 32.0264; or
(2) the child's 19th birthday.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 32.0264 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0264. SUSPENSION AND AUTOMATIC REINSTATEMENT OF
ELIGIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS CONFINED IN CERTAIN FACILITIES AND
OTHER SETTINGS. (a) An individual's eligibility for medical
assistance is suspended during the period the individual is:
(1) confined in a correctional facility, as defined by
Section 1.07, Penal Code; or
(2) placed, detained, or committed under Title 3,
Family Code, in a facility or other setting that would otherwise
result in the loss of the individual's eligibility for that
assistance.
(b) The eligibility of an individual for medical assistance
that is suspended as provided by Subsection (a) is automatically
reinstated on the date the individual is released from the facility
or other setting described by that subsection. Following the
reinstatement, the individual remains eligible until the
expiration of the period of months for which the individual was
certified as eligible, excluding the period during which the
individual's eligibility was suspended.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
individual who is released from a facility or other setting
described by Section 32.0264, Human Resources Code, as added by
this Act, on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of
the date the individual was:
(1) confined in, placed in, detained in, or committed
to a facility or other setting described by Section 32.0264, Human
Resources Code, as added by this Act; or
(2) determined eligible for medical assistance under
Chapter 32, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.