Bill Text: NY S04057 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Establishes the child health plus and school meals enrollment coordination act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-10-01 - SIGNED CHAP.535 [S04057 Detail]

Download: New_York-2009-S04057-Amended.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        4057--B
           Cal. No. 963
                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     April 8, 2009
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sens.  STEWART-COUSINS,  ADAMS,  DIAZ, HASSELL-THOMPSON,
         C. JOHNSON, KLEIN, KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY, ONORATO, OPPENHEIMER, SAMPSON,
         STAVISKY, THOMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
         to be committed to the Committee  on  Health  --  recommitted  to  the
         Committee  on  Health  in  accordance  with  Senate  Rule 6, sec. 8 --
         committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
         recommitted  to said committee -- reported favorably from said commit-
         tee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee  discharged
         and  said  bill  committed  to  the Committee on Rules -- ordered to a
         third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its  place  in
         the order of third reading
       AN  ACT  to  amend the public health law and the social services law, in
         relation to establishing  the  child  health  plus  and  school  meals
         enrollment coordination act of 2011
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
    2  the  "child  health plus and school meals enrollment coordination act of
    3  2011".
    4    S 2. Legislative intent. The legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares
    5  good health and good nutrition the fundamentals of laying a strong foun-
    6  dation  for  early  childhood  development, success in school, and later
    7  achievement as adults, and therefore, finds  it  necessary  to  increase
    8  enrollment  in  child  health  plus.  To do so, the legislature finds it
    9  necessary to coordinate the school meal program with child health  plus.
   10  Through  three  successful  programs,  which  are  the Child Health Plus
   11  Insurance Program, the School Breakfast Program, and  the  School  Lunch
   12  Program,  New York state has shown a long-standing commitment to provid-
   13  ing health care to its residents, and through the efforts of the  legis-
   14  lature,  is  a national leader in health care innovation. New York state
   15  has made important strides in enrolling children in public health insur-
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD10048-06-0
       S. 4057--B                          2
    1  ance by expanding eligibility to cover more  children,  simplifying  the
    2  application and re-certification processes, and establishing facilitated
    3  enrollment  centers  throughout  the  state.  Furthermore, the state has
    4  attempted  to  improve the health of its schoolchildren by improving the
    5  nutritional status of school meals and by making such meals more afford-
    6  able through the free and reduced  price  School  Breakfast  and  School
    7  Lunch programs.
    8    Despite  the long-standing, successful history of Child Health Plus in
    9  New York state, hundreds of thousands of children are not  participating
   10  in this vitally necessary and important public health program. Uninsured
   11  children comprise approximately 10%, or approximately 250,000 of the 2.6
   12  million  uninsured  people in New York state. Of these 250,000 children,
   13  220,000 are eligible for, but not participating in  either  Medicaid  or
   14  Child Health Plus.
   15    The  legislature  further  finds  that  the impact on children who are
   16  uninsured, and particularly poor children, is  serious  because  leaving
   17  treatable  and preventable conditions undiagnosed and untreated can have
   18  lifelong adverse effects on their functioning and opportunities. Delayed
   19  or missed care also cuts children off from routine health care  provided
   20  in  primary  care settings that includes child-specific, age-appropriate
   21  screening, diagnosis and treatment of both chronic and acute conditions.
   22  One-third (32.9%) of uninsured children in New York state go without any
   23  medical care for the entire year in a society  where  87.5%  of  insured
   24  children receive care during the same period. Research shows that having
   25  access  to  reliable  and  accountable primary health care is associated
   26  with lower pediatric  hospitalization  rates  for  conditions  that  are
   27  preventable with good primary care. In New York state, the gap in access
   28  to  health  care  is  greater  for minority children. Uninsured Hispanic
   29  children are 10 times more likely than insured Hispanic children to  not
   30  receive  the medical care they need. Uninsured African-American children
   31  are 20 times more likely than insured African-American children  to  not
   32  receive necessary medical care.
   33    Since  the  majority  of children who are eligible for but not partic-
   34  ipating in Child Health Plus are attending school, the legislature finds
   35  it necessary to improve coordination between these two health and nutri-
   36  tion programs so that children who apply for and participate  in  either
   37  free  or  reduced  price  school  meals are also enrolled in medicaid or
   38  Child Health Plus.
   39    S 3. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (f) of subdivision 2  of  section
   40  2511 of the public health law, as added by section 44 of part A of chap-
   41  ter 1 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   42    (iii)  Income  documentation shall include, but not be limited to, one
   43  or more of the following for each parent and legally  responsible  adult
   44  who  is  a  member of the household and whose income is available to the
   45  child;
   46    (A) current annual income tax returns;
   47    (B) paycheck stubs;
   48    (C) written documentation of income from all employers; or
   49    (D) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY OF A CHILD FOR FREE OR
   50  REDUCED BREAKFAST OR LUNCH THROUGH THE SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAM CERTIFIED  BY
   51  THE CHILD'S SCHOOL, PROVIDED THAT:
   52    (I)  THE  COMMISSIONER  MAY  VERIFY  THE  ACCURACY  OF THE INFORMATION
   53  PROVIDED IN THE SAME MANNER AND WAY AS PROVIDED FOR IN SUBPARAGRAPH (II)
   54  OF THIS PARAGRAPH; AND
   55    (II) SUCH DOCUMENTATION MAY NOT BE SUITABLE PROOF  OF  INCOME  IN  THE
   56  EVENT  OF  A MATERIAL INCONSISTENCY IN INCOME AFTER THE COMMISSIONER HAS
       S. 4057--B                          3
    1  PERFORMED VERIFICATION PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF THIS  PARAGRAPH;
    2  OR
    3    (E)  other  documentation of income (earned or unearned) as determined
    4  by the commissioner, provided, however,  such  documentation  shall  set
    5  forth the source of such income.
    6    S  4.  Paragraph  (c)  of subdivision 2 of section 366-a of the social
    7  services law, as added by section 51 of part A of chapter 1 of the  laws
    8  of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
    9    (c)  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
   10  SION, AN APPLICANT  OR  RECIPIENT  PROVIDING  WRITTEN  DOCUMENTATION  OF
   11  INCOME  ELIGIBILITY  OF  A  CHILD FOR FREE OR REDUCED BREAKFAST OR LUNCH
   12  THROUGH THE SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAM CERTIFIED BY THE  CHILD'S  SCHOOL  SHALL
   13  MEET THE EVIDENTIARY REQUIREMENT NECESSARY TO DOCUMENT INCOME.
   14    (D) The commissioner of health may verify the accuracy of the informa-
   15  tion  provided  by  the  applicant  or recipient pursuant to [paragraph]
   16  PARAGRAPHS (b) AND (C) of  this  subdivision,  by  matching  it  against
   17  information  to  which  the commissioner of health has access, including
   18  under subdivision eight of this section. In the event there is an incon-
   19  sistency between the information reported by the applicant or  recipient
   20  and  any  information  obtained by the commissioner of health from other
   21  sources and such inconsistency is material to medical assistance  eligi-
   22  bility,  the  commissioner of health shall request that the applicant or
   23  recipient provide adequate documentation to verify his or her resources.
   24    S 5. This act shall take effect June 1, 2011 and shall  apply  to  the
   25  2011-2012 academic year.
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