House of Representatives

SB 1087

children's health insurance; covered services

Sponsors: Senators Nichols, Hartley, Solomon, et al.

DP	Committee on Health
DP	Committee on Financial Institutions & Insurance
X	Caucus and COW
	As Passed the House

SB 1087 allows school districts to perform outreach for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) administered through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) The bill expands coverage for eye examinations, non-emergency transportation and mental health services.

History

The Children’s Health Insurance Program was created in 1997 to provide health insurance coverage for uninsured low-income children under the age of nineteen. Primary funding for CHIP is provided through a federal grant and state-matching tobacco tax monies. As of March 1, 2001, 103,618 children have been approved for health coverage through CHIP (47,015 for KidsCare and 56,603 for Medicaid.)

The State Children’s Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created by Congress with the provision that states would be required to use each year’s allotment within three years of the grant or the funds would be redistributed to states that had spent their allotment. Forty states, including Arizona, returned 44 percent of federal funds from the allotment distributed in 1998.

Provisions

· Allows school districts to perform outreach and information activities to promote CHIP provided it does not reduce or interfere with classroom instruction time. Provides an effective date of October 1, 2001.

· Expands CHIP services to include multiple eye examinations and prescriptive lenses as needed. The program currently only provides one eye examination and one set of prescriptive lenses each year.

· Adds medically necessary non-emergency transportation to the list of covered services. Only medically necessary emergency transportation is covered under the current program.

· Removes restrictions on inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services. The program currently provides coverage for 30 days of inpatient treatment and 30 outpatient visits per year.

· Removes the requirement that members who are eighteen years of age who are not seriously mentally ill shall be referred to the contractors for behavioral health services.

SB 1087 passed the Health Committee unamended.

SB 1087 passed the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee unamended.

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45th Legislature

First Regular Session 2 April 9, 2001

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