§ 5-16B-6d — Modified benefit plan implementation

(a) Upon approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency shall implement a benefit plan for uninsured children of families with income between 200 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

(b) The benefit plans offered pursuant to this section shall include services determined to be appropriate for children but may vary from those currently offered by the agency.

(c) The agency shall structure the benefit plans for this expansion to include premiums, coinsurance or copays, and deductibles. The agency shall develop the cost-sharing features in such a manner as to keep the program fiscally stable without creating a barrier to enrollment. The features may include different cost-sharing features within this group based upon the percentage of the federal poverty level.

All provisions of §5-16B-1et seq. of this code are applicable to this expansion unless expressly addressed in §5-16B-6d of this code.

(d) Nothing in §5-16B-6d of this code may be construed to require any appropriation of state general revenue funds for the payment of any benefit provided pursuant to this section, except for the state appropriation used to match the federal financial participation funds. In the event that federal funds are no longer authorized for participation by individuals eligible at income levels above 200 percent, the director shall take immediate steps to terminate the expansion provided for in this section and notify all enrollees of the termination. If federal appropriations decrease for the programs created pursuant to Title XXI of the Social Security Act of 1997, the director shall make those decreases in this expansion program before making changes to the programs created for those children whose family income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

Legislative History

2022 Reg. Sess., HB4649; 2020 Reg. Sess., SB641; 2019 Reg. Sess., SB564; 2010 Reg. Sess., HB4373; 2006 Reg. Sess., HB4021