Legislation to Watch
Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) Coverage to Begin 1/1/08
To qualify, individuals must be between 18-64 years of age, uninsured for at least 6 months, and not eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance. Pregnant women do not qualify for HIP, as pregnancy services are covered by Hoosier Healthwise. Applications for HIP enrollment will be accepted beginning December 17, 2007, with coverage beginning January 1, 2008. The program will cover approximately 130,000 residents a year. For more information, visit http://www.in.gov/fssa/hip/ or call (877) GET-HIP-9
If you are a Hoosier Healthwise Enrollment Center and you would like to assist uninsured adults to apply for HIP, please click here.
Presumptive Eligibility Update
This new program will give eligible pregnant women access to health care coverage within a few days of filing an application for Hoosier Healthwise with an enrollment center who meets the criteria of a "Qualified Provider." If you would like more information about Presumptive Eligibility (PE) or accepting PE applications, please click here, print, complete, and return the response form by November 30, 2007.
Presumptive Eligibility is expected to take effect in Spring 2008. IPN will provide further information and details as they become available.
Senate Bill 1075
The Unintended Pregnancy Act, S.1075, is designed to reduce the rates of unintended pregnancies and abortions by expanding Medicaid coverage for family planning services to cover certain low-income, non-pregnant women as a mandatory categorically needy group. This bill also provides that any state benchmark plan coverage must include medical assistance for family planning services and supplies. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.
Those wishing to do so could contact their House and Senate elected officials in support of legislation that improves the quality of health care for low-income children and women. View bill
All Low-Income Newborns to Receive Equal Access to Medicaid
Leslie V. Norwalk, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced today that all babies born in the
Section 1902(e)(4) of the Social Security Act ("the Act") provides that a child born to a mother receiving Medicaid will automatically be eligible for Medicaid for one full year, if certain conditions are met. As a result of this "deemed" status, the States do not make a new eligibility determination for the infant at the time of birth; rather, eligibility is continued under the mother's status for the first year. Under CMS' July 2006 interim final rule implementing Section 1903(x) of the Act, this "deeming" process does not extend to the newborns of non-citizen mothers who are not ordinarily eligible for Medicaid but receive emergency Medicaid services for labor and delivery of a child. View press release.
Please contact Alice Lam (202.690.8605, alice.lam@cms.hhs.gov) in teh CMS Office of Legislations with any questions.
