Date: 02/11/2014
Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB14-067
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE & HUMAN SERVICES
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02:54 PM -- SB14-067
Representative Singer introduced Senate Bill 14-067. The bill makes changes to state law to align Medicaid and the Children's Health Benefit Plan with the requirements of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Specifically, the bill:
• removes obsolete descriptions of eligibility categories and renames and recategorizes them to conform to current eligibility groups;
• defines "modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)" by referencing the definition in federal law for eligibility determination;
• removes obsolete language regarding income- and resource-counting methods;
• updates statute to include federally approved electronic data sources for income verification;
• clarifies that applicants who are ineligible for state medical assistance will have their application data and verifications transferred to the state health insurance marketplace; and
• makes conforming amendments.
02:58 PM -- Marivel Guadarrama, Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, testified in support of the bill and explained the bill's changes to state law. She stated that the department has worked to ensure that the bill's changes won't affect clients. She responded to questions from the committee regarding application information that is shared with the health insurance exchange and the privacy measures that the department has enacted to ensure the safe transfer of information between the department and the health care exchange.
03:06 PM -- Barbara Prehmus, Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, responded to questions from the committee regarding the possibility of the federal government auditing the state if the bill were to fail. Ms. Guadarrama responded to questions regarding the bill's changes to the Medicaid program's eligibility categories.
03:13 PM -- George Lyford, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, discussed the stakeholder engagement process that occurred in developing the bill. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the bill's changes to the eligibility categories for pregnant women.
03:17 PM -- Ms. Prehmus returned to the table to address committee questions regarding the changes to the eligibility categories for pregnant women.
03:19 PM
The bill was laid over at the request of the bill sponsor.
03:21 PM
The committee adjourned.