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Kansas committee hears bill to permanently update CHIP eligibility and remove outdated penalties
Summary
The House Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on House Bill 2,386, which would align Kansas law with current federal CHIP rules by updating the poverty-level reference and removing unenforceable premium lockout and waiting-period language.
The House Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on House Bill 2,386 on a bill to permanently correct eligibility language in Kansas's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Carly, the committee staff analyst, told the panel the bill "updates the eligibility requirements for the state children's health insurance program" by amending KSA 38-2001 and removing references to the 2008 federal poverty income guidelines, a waiting period for newly enrolled participants and a provision that would deem a child ineligible if a family failed to pay a premium. The bill would take effect July 1, 2025, upon publication in the statute book.
Supporters said the changes are technical but consequential. Yvonne Case, director of operations for Medicaid, said the statute currently ties CHIP premiums to the 2008 poverty level and that the legislature has repeatedly used annual budget provisos to reset the rate. "This bill will make that permanent," Case said, adding that the provisions on premium nonpayment and waiting periods are unenforceable because of federal legislation passed since 2008. "So it will simply put the state in alignment. Nothing will change as far as the way we're operating. So we're in favor."
Heather Brom, senior policy advisor with Kansas Action for Children, told the committee the drafting error has eroded eligibility over time and that temporary fixes through annual provisos are not a long-term solution. "When CHIP was last significantly updated in 02/2008, the legislature accidentally pegged eligibility back to that 2008 federal poverty level," Brom said. She said the converted percentage had declined to about 225% by 2021 and that the bill would restore a clearer, permanent mechanism for keeping eligibility aligned with current federal guidelines.
Committee members asked procedural and contextual questions about current federal poverty levels and how the updated statutory language would operate in practice; supporters said the change preserves current program operations and would maintain coverage for eligible children. No committee action was taken; the hearing was informational.
For now, testimony and written submissions indicate bipartisan administrative support and that the bill's primary effect is to prevent future erosion of eligibility tied to an outdated reference year.
