Texas Senate Passes Bill to Simplify Medicaid Assets Test, Eliminate Enrollment Interview

The Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill (SB 43) April 18 to make Medicaid enrollment more "elegant and easy," agreeing to simplify the program's assets test and to extend continuous eligibility for children under five from six months to 12 months, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports (Brooks, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 4/18). In addition, the bill would eliminate the face-to-face interview requirement and simplify necessary documentation to more closely match the state's one-page CHIP program application. Originally, the bill would have eliminated the assets test, which limits Medicaid enrollment to families with less than $2,000 in assets, not counting their home and one vehicle. As passed, however, the bill keeps the test but mandates that the documentation of assets be made "simpler" for families (Gott, AP/Dallas Morning News, 4/19). The bill will cost the state about $120 million during the 2002-03 budget cycle and is expected to enroll an additional 105,000 children in Medicaid (Brooks, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 4/18). The legislation now moves to the House Public Health Committee (AP/Dallas Morning News, 4/19).