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Committee backs aligning CHIP income limit to federal maximum; estimated 96 children affected if not adjusted
Summary
House Bill 1070 would align North Dakota’s Children’s Health Insurance Program income eligibility with the federal maximum (205% FPL including the 5% disregard); HHS told the committee the change reflects CMS rules and estimated about 96 children would fall outside coverage if the state did not adopt the federal maximum
The House Human Services Committee voted to give House Bill 1070 a do‑pass recommendation after hearing Department of Human Services testimony explaining the need to align state CHIP income eligibility with federal rules.
Krista Freming, assistant director of the Medical Services Division at the Department of Human Services, told the committee that a prior 2023 change in state law raised CHIP eligibility toward 210 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Freming said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance limits the maximum a state may be approved for under the optional targeted low‑income children’s group to 200 percent of FPL plus a five‑percentage‑point standardized income disregard for a total of 205 percent. She said CMS notified the department that the federal maximum the state could request and obtain approval for was 200 percent plus the five‑point disregard (205 percent), not 210 percent.
Freming said the department estimates about 96 children would fall into the 205–210 percent FPL range and therefore would not be eligible if the state adopted the federal maximum rather than the higher 210 percent figure. She told the committee the bill would have no fiscal impact because projected enrollment decreases from the lower FPL are already accounted for in the department’s base budget.
Representative Figley moved and seconded the do‑pass motion; the clerk called the roll and the committee recorded a majority vote in favor. Committee members asked whether the federal five‑percent standardized income disregard would apply automatically; Freming said 205 percent is the CMS‑approved maximum under the federal rules cited (42 CFR 435.4) and that the department had pursued CMS guidance prior to and after the 2023 change.
The committee closed the hearing and approved a do‑pass recommendation on House Bill 1070.
