Bipartisan Bill Would Revitalize the Children’s Health Insurance Program

S. 1224, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 that Senators Jay D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced last month, would expand eligibility while remedying the current funding shortfall in the children’s health care program. The bipartisan proposal more than doubles funding for the program over the next five years and significantly improves the federal reimbursement mechanism to match states’ efforts. These reforms would create a more reliable source of funds for states and help sustain the program.

With nine million American children currently uninsured, the CHIP debate takes on greater significance as advocates look for ways to cover all kids. But successful programs such as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are already in place and, if expanded, can cover virtually all children today. Lawmakers support expanding and permanently securing SCHIP so that no American child will ever have to go without medical care.

According to Senator Rockefeller, “the legislation [adjusts] state’s allotments to reflect both states’ current funding needs and the funding they need to make more progress in covering uninsured children in their states; explicitly incorporating health inflation and population growth into the allotment structure; [and] guaranteeing each state an unprecedented level of stability and predictability over time in its access to federal CHIP funds….”

“As a VISTA volunteer in southern West Virginia, I worked with children who had gone years without seeing a doctor or dentist,” Senator Rockefeller said. “Healthcare should not be a luxury. Regardless of where someone lives or what they do, everyone has a right to healthcare—especially our children.”

The CHIP reauthorization act would make it easier for states to identify additional eligible children by allowing states to utilize financial information of other public benefit programs. Moreover, it provides higher matching rates for states that improve information coordination and offers a financial safety net to states with more SCHIP enrollees.

The bipartisan bill would give states the option of opening up enrollment to pregnant women and legal immigrant children or pregnant women. States may choose to grant children of state employees coverage under limited circumstances. The bill would authorize states to spend CHIP dollars on subsidies for working families that are currently receiving employer-based health insurance but are unable to afford skyrocketing premiums and copayments.