BILL REQ. #:  S-2250.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/28/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to information for students regarding health insurance; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.210 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28A.210 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, as part of a public or private school's enrollment process, the school shall annually inquire whether a student has health insurance. If a student's parent or guardian indicates that a student does not have health insurance coverage or does not indicate whether the student has or does not have health insurance, the school district or a designated community health care collaborative under written contract with the school district shall provide the parent or guardian with information about the existence of the medicaid and children's health insurance program and how to get additional information about the programs. The information shall be provided in writing via postal mail, electronic mail, or existing communication channels, by December 1, 2007.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall work with the department of social and health services and established community health care collaboratives that have proven outreach and enrollment services to schools in developing a one-page informational sheet that contains the information schools are required to provide to parents under subsection (1) of this section and make that informational sheet available to schools on the superintendent of public instruction's web site by August 2007.
     (3) Beginning December 1, 2008, schools shall report annually to the superintendent of public instruction the number of students that reported not having health insurance under subsection (1) of this section.
     (4) As used in this section, "community health care collaborative" means a nonprofit organization or a local government entity that sponsors a community-based public-private collaborative with the stated purpose of improving health care access for a defined geographic area and target population, with an emphasis on active outreach to the uninsured and low-income persons. The collaborative must demonstrate formal governance accountability to a broad base of health care safety-net providers, school districts, hospitals, and public health and other community-based organizations.