II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1227

To amend title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide States with the option to allow

legal immigrant pregnant women and children to be eligible for medical

assistance under the medicaid program, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 16, 1999

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MACK, Mr. MOYNIHAN, and Mr. JEFFORDS) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide States

with the option to allow legal immigrant pregnant women

and children to be eligible for medical assistance under

the medicaid program, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigrant Children’s

5 Health Improvement Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIEN PREG2 NANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN FOR MED3 ICAID.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Per5 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation

6 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611–1614) is amended by adding

7 at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 405. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS FOR

9 MEDICAID.

10 ‘‘(a) OPTIONAL MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY FOR CER11 TAIN ALIENS.—A State may elect to waive (through an

12 amendment to its State plan under title XIX of the Social

13 Security Act) the application of sections 401(a), 402(b),

14 403, and 421 with respect to eligibility for medical assist15 ance under the program defined in section 402(b)(3)(C)

16 (relating to the medicaid program) of aliens who are law17 fully residing in the United States (including battered

18 aliens described in section 431(c)), within any or all (or

19 any combination) of the following categories of individuals:

20 ‘‘(1) PREGNANT WOMEN.—Women during preg21 nancy (and during the 60-day period beginning on

22 the last day of the pregnancy).

23 ‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—Children (as defined under

24 such plan), including optional targeted low-income

25 children described in section 1905(u)(2)(B).’’.
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1 (b) APPLICABILITY OF AFFIDAVITS OF SUPPORT.—

2 Section 213A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

3 (8 U.S.C. 1183a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(4) INAPPLICABILITY TO BENEFITS PROVIDED

6 UNDER A STATE WAIVER.—For purposes of this sec7 tion, the term ‘means-tested public benefits’ does not

8 include benefits provided pursuant to a State elec9 tion and waiver described in section 405 of the Per10 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec11 onciliation Act of 1996.’’.

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

13 (1) Section 401(a) of the Personal Responsi14 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

15 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(a)) is amended by inserting

16 ‘‘and section 405’’ after ‘‘subsection (b)’’.

17 (2) Section 402(b)(1) of the Personal Responsi18 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

19 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(1)) is amended by inserting

20 ‘‘, section 405,’’ after ‘‘403’’.

21 (3) Section 403(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

22 1613(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘section 405 and’’

23 after ‘‘provided in’’.

24 (4) Section 421(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

25 1631(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘except as pro-
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1 vided in section 405,’’ after ‘‘Notwithstanding any

2 other provision of law,’’.

3 (5) Section 1903(v)(1) of the Social Security

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)(1)) is amended by insert5 ing ‘‘and except as permitted under a waiver de6 scribed in section 405(a) of the Personal Responsi7 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

8 1996,’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2),’’.

9 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

10 this section take effect on October 1, 1999.

11 SEC. 3. OPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN

12 FOR SCHIP.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 405 of the Personal Re14 sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

15 1996, as added by section 2(a), is amended—

16 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND SCHIP’’

17 before the period; and

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section:

20 ‘‘(b) OPTIONAL SCHIP ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN

21 ALIENS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a

23 State may also elect to waive the application of sec24 tions 401(a), 402(b), 403, and 421 with respect to

25 eligibility of children for child health assistance
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1 under the State child health plan of the State under

2 title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

3 1397aa et seq.), but only with respect to children

4 who are lawfully residing in the United States (in5 cluding children who are battered aliens described in

6 section 431(c)).

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTION.—A waiver

8 under this subsection may only be in effect for a pe9 riod in which the State has in effect an election

10 under subsection (a) with respect to the category of

11 individuals described in subsection (a)(2) (relating to

12 children).’’.

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

14 subsection (a) applies to child health assistance for cov15 erage provided for periods beginning on or after October

16 1, 1999.

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