(a) The Delaware Health Care Commission shall develop a program to help Delaware children without access to health insurance to obtain health insurance at affordable cost to their families. The Program shall promote the important objectives of improving the health of uninsured Delaware children and reducing the cost-shifts to policyholders and hospitals caused by uncompensated care. Such program shall be called the Delaware Healthy Children Program (hereinafter in this section, the “Program” or “CHIP”).
(b) The Program shall be administered and implemented by the Department of Health and Social Services [DHSS].
(c) The Program shall operate within the limits of the appropriations made for such purpose in the annual appropriations act. To the extent that private charitable or foundation support is available to implement the Program, such appropriations may be used for a public-private partnership to implement the Program in compliance with of this section.
(d) The Program shall be designed to provide the ability to purchase insurance at a reasonable cost to uninsured Delaware children without access to affordable health insurance through their parents’/guardians’ employers. The Program shall offer a managed care product that may require participants to pay regular premiums and may require participants to pay co-payments, and shall be designed to create incentives for participants to use health services in a prudent and responsible fashion. The Program shall also be designed to minimize the ability of private employers who provide health insurance coverage for their employees to eliminate such coverage, and, to the extent practicable, provide incentives for employers who provide no health insurance coverage for their employees to begin to provide such coverage.
(e) The Program shall offer to children health insurance which emphasizes the prudent and responsible use of preventive services so as to improve the health of participants, promote the early detection of serious health problems such as cancer and to help reduce the need for more expensive care by addressing health problems which can be treated more inexpensively if identified in a timely manner. To this end, the health insurance plan offered by the Program shall offer participants the ability to obtain regular preventative health care in accordance with accepted medical guidelines.
(f) The Program shall be designed to integrate with other state health initiatives to ensure that state resources are used efficiently to extend health insurance access and not to duplicate services available through other state programs, including, but not limited to, the State’s Medicaid program, particularly the primary care managed care plan known as the Diamond State Health Plan, the School-Based Health Center program, and the public-private children’s health access initiative involving the Nemours Foundation. To the extent practicable, the Program shall be administered by the State Medicaid Office and the health insurance plan offered to participants shall be designed to operate in tandem with the Diamond State Health Plan so as to maximize service to participants, contain costs through coordinated purchasing and contracting and minimize administrative costs.
(g) The DHSS is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations and take such other actions as are necessary to implement this section and to secure federal funding to support the Program, including any actions necessary to comply with the Federal Child Health Assistance Act, Title XXI of the federal Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. § 1397aa et seq.]
(h) The Program shall be designed with the intent that program coverage could be extended to low-income uninsured adult Delawareans in the future if sufficient resources are appropriated for such purpose.
(i) The Program shall be designed with the intent that program coverage could be extended to families with incomes above 200% of the Federal poverty level.
(j) (1) The provision of health-care insurance under CHIP shall be extended to eligible children under the age of 19 whose families have personal incomes above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), as determined pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1397jj(c)(5).
(2) For an eligible child whose family income is greater than 200% of the FPL, the family may purchase a healthcare benefit package, determined by DHSS and subject to any necessary approval under federal law, that provides benefits identical to those provided to an eligible child covered under this section.
(3) To be eligible for coverage under CHIP where family income is greater than 200% of the FPL, a child over 2 years of age must have been uninsured for a continuous period of not less than 3 consecutive months immediately preceding enrollment in CHIP unless:
a. The child’s parent is eligible to receive benefits pursuant to the State’s unemployment compensation laws, as set forth in Title 19;
b. The child’s parent was covered by a health insurance plan, a self-insurance plan or a self-funded plan and involuntarily lost coverage; or
c. A child is transferring from 1 government-subsidized health-care program to another.
(4) DHSS shall have the authority to establish and adjust the levels of co-payments, premiums, and deductibles for children enrolled under this subsection for the purpose of ensuring that the state cost of the plan does not exceed funds specifically appropriated for purposes of this subsection.
(k) The program shall be designed such that program coverage shall include the provision of dental services to children enrolled in the program.
(l) By September 1 of each calendar year beginning in 2008, DHSS shall develop a form and instructions for school districts to use in communicating to DHSS the information regarding free and reduced price meal eligibility whose submission is required by § 4134 of Title 14. Said form and instructions shall be communicated by October 1 of each calendar year to each school district.
(m) By January 1 of each calendar year beginning in 2009, DHSS shall communicate in writing with the family of each child who may be eligible for the CHIP or Medicaid programs based upon information submitted by the school districts pursuant to § 4134 of Title 14. Said communication shall inform the family that its children may be eligible for free or reduced price health insurance based upon income information received from the school district, and provide information to the family for applying for the CHIP and Medicaid programs. The form provided to families notified pursuant to this subsection shall allow DHSS to calculate how many families have enrolled in the CHIP or Medicaid programs as a result of such notification, and the Department of Insurance shall reimburse DHSS for any administrative costs incurred as a result of such additional enrollments. No funds transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be used to fund insurance benefits for the CHIP or Medicaid programs.
(n) Only persons authorized to carry out initial processing of Medicaid or CHIP applications or make eligibility determinations with respect to Medicaid or CHIP applicants may review information received from the school districts pursuant to § 4134 of Title 14.
(o) Prior to August 1, 2008, DHSS shall enter into written agreements with each of the school districts meeting the requirements of § 4134(e) of Title 14.
(p) “School district” as used in this section shall have the meaning assigned to it in § 4134(g) of Title 14.
(q) DHSS shall cooperate with the school districts and the Insurance Commissioner in developing the written materials required by subsections (l) and (o) of this section. DHSS shall cooperate with the Insurance Commissioner in developing the written materials required by subsection (m) of this section.