What is the Children’s Health Insurance Program?
October 1, 2007 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Not to sound political (this isn’t the blog for that) but lately, I’ve been hearing more and more about SCHIP – the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
‘What is it? Who currently benefits? What changes are going to happen? Why the buzz in DC?’ are just some of the questions that run through my mind as I listen to a breaking news in my local TV. So, I did a little browsing and compiled what I learned.
What is the Children’s Health Insurance Program?
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance for their children. CHIP coverage provides eligible children with coverage for a full range of health services including regular checkups, immunizations, prescription drugs, lab tests, X-rays, hospital visits and more.
Covered would be households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
CHIP expires today, and so legislators have been “working to help states brace for the possibility that hundreds of thousands of children could lose health coverage if President Bush vetoes its reauthorization”.
Approval of the bill to extend the program has been delayed because politicians want to add an expansion clause to it.
The program provides states $5 billion a year in matching federal funds. Members of the House and Senate approved an expansion of the program last week that would increase spending to $60 billion over the next five years. Funding for the increase would come from a 61-cent increase on the federal excise tax on cigarettes.
President Bush has said he plans to veto the measure, arguing that the expansion of the program would put the nation one step closer to universal health care. He has instead proposed allocating the program $30 billion over the next five years.
Depending on the political voice you listen to, you’ll get different spins to the story.
Expansion of health care for kids unwise comments the Chicago Sun Times.
State: Bush plan would cut health care for 600,000 kids reports the San Diego Tribune.
Where do you stand?
Tags: SCHIP, state, children’s health, insurance program, veto, bush, house, bill, health care, children
