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Minutes for SB407 - Committee on Public Health and Welfare
Short Title
Updating income eligibility requirements for the state children's health insurance program and eliminating the waiting period for certain persons to participate in the program.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 17, 2022
Chairperson Hilderbrand opened the hearing on SB407.
Jenna Moyer, Staff Revisor gave an overview of the bill. She took questions from committee members.
Senator Pettey gave proponent testimony on SB407. She stated that SB407 will correct the eligibility to the current year Federal Poverty Level instead of 2008 Federal Poverty Level which has been in Kansas Statute for 13 years. (Attachment 1)
Senator Pettey took questions from committee members.
Heather Braum testified as a proponent of SB407. She stated that SB407 is a commonsense bill that makes technical fixes to the statutes related to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including fixing an unintended error that has affected eligibility for more than a decade. The bill also removes a waiting period clause in statute that is out of alignment with current federal regulations for the CHIP program. (Attachment 2)
LaTonya Palmer stated in her proponent testimony that SB407 that KDHE supports the bill because it would remove obsolete language from the CHIP statute and align CHIP eligibility with current federal poverty level thresholds and also strike an outdated waiting period provision that became unenforceable following the passage of the Affordable Care Act. (Attachment 3)
The proponents took questions from committee members.
Written only, proponent testimony was submitted by:
Denise Cyzman, CEO, Community Cares (Attachment 4)
Tanya Dorf Brunner, Executive Director, Oral Health Kansas (Attachment 5)
Rachel Mayberry, Senior Director of Public Policy and Communications, Heartspring (Attachment 6)
Sean Gatewood, KanCare Advocates (Attachment 7)
David Jordan, President and CEO, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund (Attachment 8)
Kristie Clark, MD., Kansas Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (Attachment 9)
Chairperson Hilderbrand closed the hearing on SB407.
