GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1202

Short Title:  Child Health Ins./Support Orders.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representative Cansler.

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Referred to:  Judiciary II.

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April 15, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A CHILD IS DEEMED UNINSURED FOR PURPOSES OF HEALTH INSURANCE UNDER HEALTH CHOICE IF THE CHILD'S PARENT FAILS TO COMPLY WITH COURT-ORDERED HEALTH INSURANCE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 108A-70.21(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Eligibility. – The Department may enroll eligible children based on availability of funds.  Following are eligibility and other requirements for participation in the Program:
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(3)	If a responsible parent is under a court order to provide or maintain health insurance for a child and has failed to comply with the court order, then the child is deemed uninsured for purposes of determining eligibility for Program benefits.
		If health insurance other than under the Program is provided to the child after enrollment and prior to the expiration of the eligibility period for which the child is enrolled in the Program, then the child is deemed to be insured and ineligible for continued coverage under the Program.  The custodial parent has a duty to notify the Department within 10 days of receipt of the other health insurance, and the Department, upon receipt of notice, shall disenroll the child from the Program.  As used in this paragraph, the term ‘responsible parent' means a person who is under a court order to pay child support."
Section 2.  G.S. 110-135 reads as rewritten:
"§ 110-135. Debt to State created.
Acceptance of public assistance by or on behalf of a dependent child creates a debt, in the amount of public assistance paid, due and owing the State by the responsible parent or parents of the child. In those cases in which child support was required to be paid incident to a court order during the time of receipt of public assistance, the debt shall be limited to the amount specified in the court order. This liability shall attach only to public assistance granted subsequent to June 30, 1975, and only with respect to the period of time during which public assistance is granted, and only if the responsible parent or parents were financially able to furnish support during this period. In those cases in which a responsible parent is subject to a court order to provide medical support or to maintain health insurance or dental insurance as provided under G.S. 50-13.11 during the time the child is provided health, hospital, or dental services under the Health Insurance Program for Children established by Part 8 of Article 2 of Chapter 108A of the General Statutes, the debt shall be limited to the amount of health, hospital, or dental expenses paid for the child by the Health Insurance Program for Children, and for which the responsible parent is liable under G.S. 50-13.11(e).
The United States, the State of North Carolina, and any county within the State which has provided public assistance to or on behalf of a dependent child shall be entitled to share in any sum collected under this section, and their proportionate parts of such sum shall be determined in accordance with the matching formulas in use during the period for which assistance was paid.
No action to collect such debt shall be commenced after the expiration of five years subsequent to the receipt of the last grant of public assistance. The county attorney or an attorney retained by the county and/or State shall represent the State in all proceedings brought under this section."
Section 3.  G.S. 108A-25 is amended by adding the following new subsection to read:
"( b2)	The Health Insurance Program for Children is established as a program of public assistance and shall be supervised and administered as provided in Part 8 of this Article."
Section 4. This act is effective when it becomes law.