Plan to Cover 10 Million Children
Washington, D.C.- Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) and his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a revised bipartisan State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill which once again provides 10 million American children with health care while meeting certain concerns that have been raised. The Senate is expected to pass the bill next week.
“I am happy that the House put partisanship aside today to do right by our nation’s children and families,” said Congressman Higgins. “This important legislation will provide a much needed safety net to the 400,000 children currently enrolled in SCHIP in New York State, and reach many of the almost 300,000 children in New York who are eligible for SCHIP but are not yet enrolled. With the short-term SCHIP extension expiring November 16, it is critical that the President sign this legislation into law,” Higgins said.
The bill renews and improves the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), reauthorizing it for five years. The bill ensures that 6 million children who currently participate in the Children’s Health Insurance program continue to receive health care coverage, and extends coverage to nearly 4 million uninsured children, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The bill invests an additional $35 billion over five years in SCHIP in order to strengthen SCHIP’s financing; increase health care coverage for low-income, uninsured children; and improve the quality of health care children receive. Additionally, quality dental coverage will now be provided to all children enrolled in SCHIP. The bill also ensures that states will offer mental health services on par with medical and surgical benefits covered under SCHIP.
The revised bill also contains some new provisions designed to meet concerns that have been raised regarding high-income children, illegal immigrants, coverage of adults and children moving from private insurance to SCHIP. The revised legislation contains the following provisions:
· The SCHIP program will be capped at 300 percent of poverty. Under this provision, no new states will be eligible for any federal funds for covering children at income levels above 300 percent of poverty.
· To further incentivize coverage of low-income children, states will only be eligible for bonus payments for covering additional Medicaid children, the lowest-income children in a state.
· When a state sends an applicant’s name and Social Security number to the Social Security Administration, the Social Security Administration will confirm that the applicant’s record indicates that the applicant is a citizen of the United States. If the Social Security Administration cannot confirm the applicant’s citizenship, the applicant will be required to provide the state with additional documentation to confirm eligibility.
· The revised bill speeds up the phasing out of childless adults — phasing out the coverage of childless adults in SCHIP over one year instead of two.
· Premium assistance programs are added to the list of things a state can do to get bonus payments.
· All states will be required to develop plans and implement recommended best practices for minimizing “crowd-out.”
