PRINTER'S NO. 621
No. 559 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY MURPHY, MOWERY, M. WHITE, WAGNER, EARLL,
TOMLINSON, COSTA, BOSCOLA, MELLOW, LEMMOND, TARTAGLIONE,
KITCHEN, HELFRICK, THOMPSON, STOUT, MUSTO, SCHWARTZ, STACK
AND RHOADES, MARCH 9, 2001
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, MARCH 9, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), entitled "An
2 act relating to insurance; amending, revising, and
3 consolidating the law providing for the incorporation of
4 insurance companies, and the regulation, supervision, and
5 protection of home and foreign insurance companies, Lloyds
6 associations, reciprocal and inter-insurance exchanges, and
7 fire insurance rating bureaus, and the regulation and
8 supervision of insurance carried by such companies,
9 associations, and exchanges, including insurance carried by
10 the State Workmen's Insurance Fund; providing penalties; and
11 repealing existing laws," further providing for certain
12 outreach duties of the Insurance Department.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Section 2312 of the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682,
16 No.284), known as The Insurance Company Law of 1921, is amended
17 by adding a subsection to read:
18 Section 2312. Outreach.--* * *
19 (c) (1) The Insurance Department shall coordinate efforts
20 with the Department of Education to adopt an application form
21 approved by the United States Department of Agriculture to allow
22 those legally responsible for an eligible child to obtain
1 children's health insurance enrollment information during the
2 process of applying for the National School Lunch and School
3 Breakfast Programs.
4 (2) The Insurance Department shall assist the Department of
5 Education in creating a form or forms meeting criteria of the
6 United States Department of Agriculture or approving a form or
7 forms provided by the United States Department of Agriculture to
8 request the consent of interested applicants to permit school
9 officials to share information from the school meal application
10 with Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program officials.
11 (3) The Insurance Department shall supply approved forms and
12 other explanatory materials to the Department of Education or
13 directly to school districts participating in the National
14 School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to provide to
15 families with children along with school meal applications or
16 meal cards and shall expedite the processing of applications
17 requesting information on children's health insurance which are
18 returned to the school district food authorities or returned in
19 the mail to designated agencies or officials.
20 (4) The Insurance Department shall coordinate efforts with
21 the Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Education
22 to provide instruction and training to school personnel and
23 interested parents on forwarding returned forms to applicable
24 agencies or officials as expeditiously as possible. The
25 departments shall provide a mechanism to send applications and
26 other materials to families referred through the school meal
27 programs, shall provide a toll-free number from which an
28 interested parent or guardian may receive additional
29 information, and shall expeditiously begin eligibility
30 determination for interested children. The departments may
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1 provide outreach workers or train volunteers to staff school
2 activities at which information on children's health insurance
3 may be provided or applications may be completed.
4 (5) Administrative expenses for a school's participation in
5 the program shall be paid from the administrative moneys
6 available for Medical Assistance and the Children's Health
7 Insurance Program.
8 (6) The departments shall provide a follow-up report to the
9 General Assembly on the results of the coordination of
10 activities to utilize the school meal program to attract
11 applicants for children's health insurance. The departments
12 shall coordinate efforts to work out barriers to enrollment
13 which may be discovered in the course of developing the report.
14 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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