[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2512 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2512

  To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to prohibit 
   States from requiring eligibility determinations for children for 
  benefits under the Medicaid Program and the State Children's Health 
    Insurance Program (SCHIP) more frequently than once every year.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

    Mr. Al Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Wynn, Mr. 
 Butterfield, Mr. Davis of Alabama, Mr. Towns, Mr. Meeks of New York, 
 Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, 
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, 
 Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Perlmutter, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Eddie Bernice 
Johnson of Texas, Mr. Honda, Mr. Faleomavaega, Ms. Watson, Mr. Scott of 
   Virginia, Mr. Payne, Mr. Clay, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, and Mr. 
   Fattah) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to prohibit 
   States from requiring eligibility determinations for children for 
  benefits under the Medicaid Program and the State Children's Health 
    Insurance Program (SCHIP) more frequently than once every year.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Coverage Gaps for Kids Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING STATES FROM REQUIRING MEDICAID OR SCHIP ELIGIBILITY 
              DETERMINATIONS OF CHILDREN MORE FREQUENTLY THAN ANNUALLY.

    (a) Medicaid.--Section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396a(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (69), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (70), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (70) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(71) provide that eligibility of an individual under 19 
        years of age under this title (including under a waiver 
        approved under section 1115) shall be effective for a 12-month 
        period (or, if earlier, until the date the individual would no 
        longer be eligible for medical assistance under this title 
        based on age) without requirement to determine eligibility 
        before the end of such period, except that a State may require 
        such an individual to notify the State of changes in income or 
        other circumstances during such a 12-month period and may 
        redetermine such individual's eligibility based on such 
        changes.''.
    (b) SCHIP.--Section 2102(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397bb(b)(2)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Such methods shall 
provide that eligibility of a targeted low-income child shall be 
effective for a 12-month period (or, if earlier, until the date the 
child would no longer be eligible based on age) without requirement to 
determine eligibility before the end of such period. The previous 
sentence shall not be construed as preventing a State from requiring a 
targeted low-income child to notify the State of changes in income or 
other circumstances during such a 12-month period and as preventing a 
State from redetermining such child's eligibility based on such 
changes.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to States with respect to eligibility determinations for periods 
beginning on or after January 1, 2008.
                                 <all>