House Bill 839

Author: Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin

Filed: Jan 21. Passed by House: May 11

This is when some lawmakers earn their money, Austin Rep. Elliott Naishtat half-joked across the brass rail at the back of the House Chamber. With every day critical in passing a bill before the end of the session, he was working hard to salvage HB 839, a simple fix that ensures some kids will keep their health benefits.

Currently, if a child on CHIP or Medicaid goes into a juvenile detention facility, their medical benefits are immediately terminated. That means when they come out, they have to re-apply, so they can be without insurance for a month. As Naishtat noted, many of these kids may have medical or behavioral issues that require treatment, or that may even have been a factor in their original offense. That one-month gap could be extremely damaging to them. Naishtat’s proposal simply changes that termination to suspension; as the children will be presumed to be eligible for those same benefits upon exit, that coverage gap simply disappears.

This seems like a simple fix, but, due to the opposition of groups like the Texas Association of Business, the bill failed on third vote, 65-74. Cue some serious legwork from Naishtat and House Republican Caucus Chair Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, who got the measure back on the agenda. With only one hour’s notice, they convinced the House holdouts to pass it 140-0, and now it heads to the Senate.

This article appears in May 15 • 2015.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.