BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                             


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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                    SB 92|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
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                       THIRD READING
                              

Bill No:  SB 92
Author:   Hayden (D)
Amended:  5/28/99
Vote:     21

  
  SENATE INSURANCE COMMITTEE  :  7-2, 4/21/99
AYES:  Speier, Escutia, Figueroa, Hughes, Johnston, Schiff,  
  Sher
NOES:  Leslie, Lewis
NOT VOTING: Johnson

  SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  8-5, 5/27/99
AYES:  Johnston, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Karnette,  
  Perata, Vasconcellos
NOES:  Johnson, Kelley, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy
 

  SUBJECT :    Healthy Families Program

  SOURCE  :     Author

 
  DIGEST  :   This bill expands the Healthy Families program  
(HFP), which provides health insurance   coverage to  
children in low-income working families.  The bill:

1.Includes children who legally immigrate to the U.S. after  
  August 22, 1996.

2.Expands the program's definition of resident to include  
  children whose parents live in California and entered the  
  state with a job commitment or to seek employment.

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                                                       Page  
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  ANALYSIS  :   


Existing law:


1.Requires the HFP program to pay for certain services  
  rendered to children up to 30 days in advance of when  
  they enrolled in the program.  Payments are limited to  
  providers that participate in the CHDP.


2.Requires that an applicant to HFP must be applying on  
  behalf of a child who meets certain requirements,  
  including federal citizenship and immigration  
  requirements, and requires that an applicant be a  
  "resident" as defined under Section 244 Government Code.


3.Bars program eligibility to children who entered the U.S.  
  after August 22, 1996, although federal law permits  
  states to include these children at the expense of a  
  state.


4.Continuously appropriates money from the HFP Fund for  
  purposes of implementing the program.


  Related legislation  :


SB 87 (Escutia), SB 107 (Polanco), SB 111 (Figueroa), SB  
112 (Figueroa), SB 168 (Speier), SB 180 (Sher), AB 43  
(Villaraigosa), and AB 497 (Gallegos).


  Prior legislation  :  


SB 1398 (Hayden) and AB 1430 (Figueroa), both from the  
1997-98 session.  SB 1398 died in Assembly Appropriations  
Committee and AB 1430 died in Senate Appropriations  
Committee.







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  FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
Local:  No

                Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
  
Major Provisions               1998-99     1999-2000        
  2000-01             Fund  

Expansion of pre-enrollment             unknown costGeneral  
&
                                                    federal
New immigrant eligibility                  4,900    
15,000General
Residency definition                    unknown costGeneral  
&
                                                   federal

Federal funding for recent immigrants is not now permitted,  
although the President's budget proposes to allow it.

  SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/27/99)

Health Access California
California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
California Nurses Association
California Association of Public Hospitals and Health  
    Systems
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Health Law Program, Inc.
Center for Public Interest Law, University of San Diego
Children's Advocacy Institute
California Association of Catholic Hospitals
County of Santa Barbara Kids Network
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Private Essential Access Community Hospitals
Children's Network of Solano County
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Children's Defense Fund
JERICHO








                                                       SB 92
                                                       Page  
4


  ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :   According to the author, it is  
unfair to deny a child who would otherwise qualify for HFP  
access based upon an arbitrary date of entry into the U.S.   
It is far more cost-effective to provide preventative care  
to children than to treat them in emergency rooms, protects  
the health of all children by screening for communicable  
diseases, and helps children remain healthy during their  
crucial growth years.  The author states that the bill is  
particularly important to the children of migrant farm  
workers.  The author also points out that California  
already allows new immigrant children to be served by  
Medi-Cal if they meet certain age and income requirements.   
The author indicates that excluding children from HFP based  
upon date of entry to the U.S. creates a perverse situation  
in which some children in a family may have access to  
medical care and some may not.

DLW:jk  5/29/99   Senate Floor Analyses 

               SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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