ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
AHCCCS; adoption; third
party payors
Repeals statutes relating to
the reimbursement of prenatal and delivery services covered by the Arizona
Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) in adoption cases.
A.R.S. §8-548.07 requires
AHCCCS to recover the total cost of prenatal care and delivery from adoptive
parents who reside out-of-state and adopt children from Arizona. AHCCCS also
recovers some of the costs for prenatal care and delivery from private insurers
of in-state adoptive parents. AHCCCS
seeks reimbursement from out-of-state adoptive parents, regardless of third
party coverage; however, the administration does not seek reimbursement of
these costs from in-state adoptive parents unless the parents have third party
coverage.
In 2000, the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals held the statute to be unconstitutional because it is
discriminatory and violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution (Birth Hope Adoption Agency, Inc. v. Arizona
Health Care Cost Containment System).
According to the Court opinion, in order to collect the prenatal and
delivery costs from adoptive parents, both interstate and intrastate adoptions
must be treated the same.
According to AHCCCS, from
1996 through 2000, the administration collected approximately $375,000 from
out-of-state adoptive parents. The
state share of this amount is approximately $160,00; the remaining amount goes
to the Health Care Financing Administration to cover the federal share. Under the provisions of S.B. 1140, if the
state collected the same amount over the next five years, the cost to AHCCCS
would be $160,000. AHCCCS has collected $228,000 for in-state adoptions from
private insurers over a five-year period, $80,000 of which is the state’s
share. In addition, AHCCCS contracts
with a collection agency at a cost of $34,200.
Based on these figures, the cost of repealing the requirement of AHCCCS
to seek reimbursement for prenatal and delivery services in adoption cases is
approximately $205,800 over a five-year period.
1. Repeals statutes relating to the reimbursement of costs to AHCCCS for prenatal care and delivery for out-of-state adoptions of Arizona babies.
2. Repeals statutes allowing AHCCCS to receive confidential adoption information for identification of adoption related third party payors.
3. Repeals the statute prohibiting AHCCCS from seeking reimbursement of maternity costs for newborns with special needs.
4. Eliminates the requirement for an adoption agency or adoption attorney to notify AHCCCS when an AHCCCS member’s child is placed for adoption.
5. Makes conforming and technical changes.
6. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
January 26, 2001