• Message from the Chair
The 80thTexas legislative session ended on May 28, 2007, with several successes for our March of Dimes initiatives. Our successes involved requiring tobacco retailers to post signage at the point-of-cigarette sales, warning of the risk of smoking and preterm and low birth weight births and important changes to the Children’s Health Insurance Program that will restore benefits to an estimated 127,000 children in Texas.
I would like to thank all of the March of Dimes volunteers around Texas for their hard work and dedication to our legislative priorities during the 80th Legislative Session. The passage of the point-of-sale bill and CHIP legislation during one of the most difficult legislative sessions in recent history represents two tremendous successes for the March of Dimes mission. We should all take great pride in knowing that our efforts have ensured that more women will be made aware of the dangers of smoking during pregnancy and more children will receive the health care they so rightly deserve.
Now, we must gather our resources to prepare for the 81st Texas legislative session in 2009 to ensure that CF is added to the newborn screening panel and the Texas Birth Defects Registry receives its funding. With the lessons learned during the 2007 session, and the power of the State Public Affairs Committee and hundreds of other volunteers, we will once again be the voice for the March of Dimes and Texas’ tiniest citizens.
Dee-Ann Dobson
Chair, State Public Affairs Committee
2006-2007
For more information on March of Dimes advocacy efforts, please contact Morgan Walthall, State Director of Public Affairs, at mwalthall@marchofdimes.com or (512) 477-3221.
• Summary of the Texas 80th Legislative Session
The March of Dimes had a very successful 80th Legislative session. We worked hard to advocate for:
- Additional funding to add cystic fibrosis to the newborn screening panel.
- Point of sale health warnings concerning smoking and preterm births.
- Additional funding for the Texas Birth Defects Registry.
- 12 months of continuous eligibility for children on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and eliminating the 90-day waiting period.
Our Successes
Senate Bill 91
Senate Bill 91 by Senator Leticia Van de Putte, requires that the point-of-sale sign posted where tobacco is sold be amended and state: PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD NOT SMOKE. SMOKERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BABIES WHO ARE BORN PREMATURE OR WITH LOW BIRTH WEIGHT. Governor Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 91 into law on May 11, 2007, and the law went into effect on September 1, 2007.
House Bill 109
House Bill 109 by Representative Sylvester Turner, relates to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). House Bill 109 was signed by Governor Rick Perry on June, 15, 2007, and was effective immediately. March of Dimes and many other maternal and child health advocacy grouped worked tirelessly to support this very important piece of Legislation. House Bill 109 will expand CHIP by more than 127,000 children through:
- Restoration of outreach programs through community-based organizations. Programs will be conducted in English and Spanish. In addition, school based health clinics will be required to conduct outreach programs (effective September 1, 2007).
- The use of child-care expense deductions when calculating income (effective September 1, 2007).
- The doubling of the asset test limit from $5,000 to $10,000, increasing the first vehicle allowance from $15,000 to $18,000 and increasing the second vehicle allowance from $4,650 to $7,500. (effective September 1, 2007.)
- The establishment of a 12-month eligibility requirement with one paper application per year (effective September 1, 2007). A six-month income review process will be phased in and fully implemented by September 2008. This review will involve families with income 185% of the federal poverty level ($38,203 a year for a family of four). The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will use third-party computer databases to determine whether family income has exceeded the CHIP limit of 200% of the federal poverty line ($41,300 a year for a family of four in 2007). If HHSC determines the income limit has been exceeded, the family will be notified to correct any inaccurate information. In addition, HHSC must notify parents at least 30 days prior to the end of coverage.
- The waiving of the 90-day waiting period for uninsured children. Only children who drop private health insurance, and do not qualify for an exception, will have to wait 90 days to enter the CHIP program. This restores the waiting period to the original 1999 Texas CHIP law.
For more information on March of Dimes advocacy efforts, please contact Morgan Walthall, State Director of Public Affairs, at mwalthall@marchofdimes.com or (512) 477-3221.
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