HB 1179

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to eligibility for Medicaid payments;
3	amending s. 409.903, F.S.; increasing the income level at
4	which a pregnant woman is eligible to receive Medicaid
5	services; providing an effective date.
6
7	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9	Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 409.903, Florida
10	Statutes, is amended to read:
11	409.903  Mandatory payments for eligible persons.--The
12	agency shall make payments for medical assistance and related
13	services on behalf of the following persons who the department,
14	or the Social Security Administration by contract with the
15	Department of Children and Family Services, determines to be
16	eligible, subject to the income, assets, and categorical
17	eligibility tests set forth in federal and state law.  Payment
18	on behalf of these Medicaid eligible persons is subject to the
19	availability of moneys and any limitations established by the
20	General Appropriations Act or chapter 216.
21	(5)  A pregnant woman for the duration of her pregnancy and
22	for the postpartum period as defined in federal law and rule, or
23	a child under age 1, if either is living in a family that has an
24	income which is at or below 150 percent of the most current
25	federal poverty level, or, effective January 1, 1992, that has
26	an income which is at or below 185 percent of the most current
27	federal poverty level. Such a person is not subject to an assets
28	test. Further, a pregnant woman who applies for eligibility for
29	the Medicaid program through a qualified Medicaid provider must
30	be offered the opportunity, subject to federal rules, to be made
31	presumptively eligible for the Medicaid program. Effective July
32	1, 2005, eligibility for Medicaid services is eliminated for
33	women who have incomes above 185 150 percent of the most current
34	federal poverty level.
35	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.