S.B. No. 420
AN ACT
relating to determining eligibility for indigent health care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (d), Section 61.006, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) The department shall establish application,
documentation, and verification procedures that are consistent
with the analogous procedures used to determine eligibility in the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families-Medicaid program. Except
as provided by Section 61.008(a)(6), the [The] department may not
adopt a standard or procedure that is more restrictive than the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families-Medicaid program or
procedures.
SECTION 2. Section 61.008, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a) The department by rule shall provide that in determining
eligibility:
(1) a county may not consider the value of the
applicant's homestead;
(2) a county must consider the equity value of a car
that is in excess of the amount exempted under department
guidelines as a resource;
(3) a county must subtract the work-related and child
care expense allowance allowed under department guidelines;
(4) a county must consider as a resource real property
other than a homestead and, except as provided by Subsection (b),
must count that property in determining eligibility; [and]
(5) if an applicant transferred title to real property
for less than market value to become eligible for assistance under
this chapter, the county may not credit toward eligibility for
state assistance an expenditure for that applicant made during a
two-year period beginning on the date on which the property is
transferred; and
(6) if an applicant is a sponsored alien, a county may
include in the income and resources of the applicant:
(A) the income and resources of a person who
executed an affidavit of support on behalf of the applicant; and
(B) the income and resources of the spouse of a
person who executed an affidavit of support on behalf of the
applicant, if applicable.
(c) In this section, "sponsored alien" means a person who
has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent
residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
Section 1101 et seq.) and who, as a condition of admission, was
sponsored by a person who executed an affidavit of support on behalf
of the person.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 420 passed the Senate on
April 7, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 420 passed the House on
May 17, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 102, Nays 40, one
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor