Establishes the medicaid outreach and enrollment program to help identify those medicare enrollees who are eligible for medicaid services but who are not participating, through outreach initiatives.

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S481-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO HEALTH
• Mar 31, 2011: COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO HEALTH
• Feb 22, 2011: NOTICE OF COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION - REQUESTED
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO AGING

S481-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S481

TITLE OF BILL:                REVISED 12/30/11

An act
in relation to increasing access to medicines for needy seniors through
the outreach to and enrollment of eligible Medicare beneficiaries in the
Medicaid program

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to establish the Medicaid outreach and
enrollment program, which would increase the access of
pharmaceuticals, for needy senior citizens and the disabled.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Short Title: "Medicaid Outreach and Enrollment for
Qualifying Medicare Beneficiaries Program"

Section 2. Legislative Findings and Intent

Section 3. Establishes the Medicaid Outreach and Enrollment Program.
Such program shall be administered by the Department of Health.
Allows the Department to develop outreach initiatives to identify
Medicaid-eligible, Medicare beneficiaries who are not currently
participating in the Medicaid program and to encourage those
individuals to seek enrollment in the Medicaid program. Such
initiatives may include; mailings, advertisements, public service
announcements, literature dissemination and community outreach.

Section 4. Requires the Department of Health to report to the
legislature on an annual basis commencing one year after program
implementation. Specifies the criteria to be included in such report,
including the number of individuals who qualified and the number that
were targeted via the program, the number that enrolled in the
program, a description of the outreach initiatives utilized by the
program, and a detailed accounting of how funding was used.

Section 5. Effective Date

EXISTING LEGISLATION:

None.

JUSTIFICATION:

This law will allow the Department of Health to develop an initiative
to increase the number of Medicare beneficiaries who are eligible for
but not enrolled in the Medicaid program. It is also a way for the
Department of Health to create a list of individuals who qualify for
the Medicaid program and put forth effort to enroll them in the
Medicaid program so that these individuals can have proper health
care and pharmaceuticals. The individuals who are qualifying for this
program need to know that they have support from the Department of
Health.


Requiring the Department of Health to report on an annual basis will
ensure the program is progressing at the desired pace. It also keeps
the legislature up to date with the initiative efforts and the
results of the program.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2011:       S.481 - Discharged from Aging, Committed to Health/A.1113
            Referred to Aging
2009-2010:  S.6116 - Referred to Finance/A.7552 - Referred to Aging
2007-2008:  A.2791 - Referred to Aging
2005-2006:  A.2232 - Referred to Aging
2003-2004:  A.3508 - Held in Ways and Means
2002:       A.9822 - Passed Assembly

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ST ATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S481-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     481

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  DIAZ  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Aging

  AN ACT in relation to increasing access to medicines for  needy  seniors
    through  the outreach to and enrollment of eligible Medicare benefici-
    aries in the Medicaid program

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "medicaid
  outreach and enrollment for qualifying medicare beneficiaries program".
    S 2. Legislative  findings  and  intent.  The  legislature  finds  and
  declares that almost thirty percent of medicare enrollees have no cover-
  age  for  pharmaceuticals. Of that number nearly twenty-five percent are
  living below the federal poverty level. Under the medicaid  program  the
  state  of New York provides pharmaceutical coverage for qualifying indi-
  viduals.  There are many medicare beneficiaries in New York that qualify
  for medicaid services but are not  enrolled  and  participating  in  the
  program.    The legislature further finds that the medicaid outreach and
  enrollment for qualifying medicare beneficiaries program  will  identify
  those medicare enrollees who are eligible for medicaid services, but are
  not participating, through outreach initiatives.
    S  3. Medicaid outreach and enrollment program. There is hereby estab-
  lished the medicaid outreach and enrollment program  ("program").    The
  program  shall  be administered by the department of health. The depart-
  ment of health shall implement and administer the  program  through  the
  development  of outreach initiatives to identify medicaid-eligible medi-
  care beneficiaries who are not participating in the medicaid program and
  to promote and encourage enrollment of these eligible individuals in the
  medicaid program.  Initiatives may include, but shall not be limited to,
  mailings,  advertisements,  public  service  announcements,   literature
  dissemination and community outreach.

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD03244-01-1

 S. 481                              2

    S  4.  The  department of health shall report to the legislature on an
  annual basis  commencing  one  year  after  the  implementation  of  the
  provisions  of the program. The report shall include the baseline number
  of medicare beneficiaries who were medicaid eligible at the beginning of
  the  previous  year;  the  number of medicaid-eligible beneficiaries who
  were medicare beneficiaries who  were  targeted  via  the  program;  the
  number of medicaid-eligible medicare beneficiaries who enrolled in medi-
  caid  in a given year and any information of enrollment via the program;
  a description of the outreach initiatives utilized by the program; and a
  detailed accounting of how funding was utilized.
    S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.