I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1843
To amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to permit States to use
funds under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for coverage
of uninsured pregnant women, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 18, 1999
Mr. HYDE (for himself and Mrs. LOWEY) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to permit
States to use funds under the State Children’s Health
Insurance Program for coverage of uninsured pregnant
women, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mothers and Newborns
Health Insurance Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. OPTIONAL COVERAGE OF LOW-INCOME, UNIN-
SURED PREGNANT WOMEN UNDER A STATE
CHILD HEALTH PLAN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title XXI of the Social Security
Act is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 2111. OPTIONAL COVERAGE OF LOW-INCOME, UNIN-
SURED PREGNANT WOMEN.
‘‘(a) OPTIONAL
COVERAGE.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of this title, a State child health plan may
provide for coverage of pregnancy-related assistance for
targeted low-income pregnant women in accordance with
this section.
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) PREGNANCY-RELATED ASSISTANCE.—The
term ‘pregnancy-related assistance’ has the meaning
given the term child health assistance in section
2110(a) as if any reference to targeted low-income
children were a reference to targeted low-income
pregnant women, except that the assistance shall be
limited to services related to pregnancy (which in-
clude prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services)
and to other conditions that may complicate preg-
nancy and shall not include prepregnancy services
and supplies.
‘‘(2) 
TARGETED
LOW-INCOME
PREGNANT
WOMAN.—The term ‘targeted low-income pregnant
woman’ has the meaning given the term targeted
low-income child in section 2110(b) as if any ref-
erence to a child were deemed a reference to a
woman during pregnancy and through the end of the
month in which the 60-day period (beginning on the
last day of her pregnancy) ends.
‘‘(c) 
REFERENCES
TO
TERMS
AND
SPECIAL
RULES.—In the case of, and with respect to, a State pro-
viding for coverage of pregnancy-related assistance to tar-
geted low-income pregnant women under subsection (a),
the following special rules apply:
‘‘(1) Any reference in this title (other than sub-
section (b)) to a targeted low income child is deemed
to include a reference to a targeted low-income preg-
nant woman.
‘‘(2) Any such reference to child health assist-
ance with respect to such women is deemed a ref-
erence to pregnancy-related assistance.
‘‘(3) Any such reference to a child is deemed a
reference to a woman during pregnancy and the pe-
riod described in subsection (b)(2).
‘‘(4) The medicaid applicable income level is
deemed a reference to the income level established
under section 1902(l)(2)(A).
‘‘(5) Subsection (a) of section 2103 (relating to
required scope of health insurance coverage) shall
not apply insofar as a State limits coverage to serv-
ices described in subsection (b)(1) and the reference
to such section in section 2105(a)(1) is deemed not
to require, in such case, compliance with the require-
ments of section 2103(a).
‘‘(6) There shall be no exclusion of benefits for
services described in subsection (b)(1) based on any
pre-existing condition and no waiting period (includ-
ing 
a 
waiting 
period 
to 
carry 
out 
section
2102(b)(3)(C)) shall apply.
‘‘(d) NO IMPACT ON ALLOTMENTS.—Nothing in this
section shall be construed as affecting the amount of any
initial allotment provided to a State under section
2104(b).
‘‘(e) APPLICATION OF FUNDING RESTRICTIONS.—
The coverage under this section (and the funding of such
coverage) is subject to the restrictions of section
2105(c).’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
2102(b)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397bb(b)(1)(B))
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(ii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
clause:
‘‘(iii) may not apply a waiting period
(including a waiting period to carry out
paragraph (3)(C)) in the case of a targeted
low-income child who is pregnant.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section take effect on the date of the enactment of
this Act and apply to allotments for all fiscal years.
SEC. 3. OPTIONAL AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT FOR CHIL-
DREN BORN TO WOMEN RECEIVING PREG-
NANCY-RELATED ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2111 of the Social Secu-
rity Act, as added by section 2(a), is further amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘(f) OPTIONAL AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT FOR CHIL-
DREN BORN
TO WOMEN RECEIVING PREGNANCY-RE-
LATED ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of this title, if a child is born to a targeted low-income