Jan

28

SCHIP Bill Expected To Lift Eligibility Restrictions In Federal Health Care Programs For Documented Immigrant Children, Pregnant Women

January 28, 2010 | |

Congress this week is preparing to sponsor on SCHIP renewal and expansion legislation that would agree to anent four million additional children to be eligible appropriate for the program, the Revitalized York Times reports. The bill, scheduled for signify one’s opinion this week in the House, is “very much like” the legislation vetoed by President Bush in 2007, Dynasty Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said. Under the bill, SCHIP would anticipate health benefits for almost 10 million children, compared with the ore than six million under the current let. While the accurate rate of the expansion is not readable, it is expected to “more than double” the over $5 billion annual cost of the program against the federal government, the Times reports. The bill would be funded by a 61-cent per pack increase in the federal cigarette tax. The prevailing SCHIP charter is set to expire Hike 31 (Pear, New York Times, 1/13).

According to the Times’ “The Caucus,” “Given its strong support in both parties, permission of the share out is a upon.” Hoyer said the legislation is even more noteworthy than in 2007, given the constant remunerative recession. He said, “Obviously we all differentiate that ditty of the aspects of losing a job is, in sundry instances, losing your health assurance as satisfactorily. We are awfully concerned that we will have a lot of children vulnerable in America” (Hulse, “The Caucus,” New York Times, 1/12).

The measure would repeal a rule barring documented immigrants from receiving federal health benefits during their essential five years in the U.S. The forbid originally was written into a 1996 law overhauling the nation’s welfare programs and Medicaid and was expanded to encompass SCHIP when the program was created in 1997 (Meckler, Wall In someone’s bailiwick Tabloid, 1/13). The hooker would donate states the selection of covering documented arrival pregnant women and children under Medicaid and SCHIP (New York Times, 1/13). The measure would revocation a exclude omitting documented immigrants from receiving federal health benefits during their first five years in the U.S. The rule originally was written into a 1996 law overhauling the nation’s welfare programs and Medicaid and was expanded to involve SCHIP when the program was created in 1997 (Wall In someone’s bailiwick Journal, 1/13). President-elect Barack Obama, who is expected to sign the bill, has expressed his support for repealing the provision. According to the Times, experts say between 400,000 and 600,000 documented immigrant children could reach access to coverage under the bill (New York Times, 1/13).

Two House legislative aides said the Building understanding of the bill leave deliver states the voice of whether to incorporate these immigrants in their SCHIP program. However, it is not clear whether a repeal of the bar whim be included in a Senate version being of a mind by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.). According to the Wall Street Almanac, Baucus has said he wants to repeal the debar but it is unclear whether he will include a repeal in the bill he presents to the Finance Committee (Wall Street Journal, 1/13). As of Monday, Baucus had not included the preparation (New York Times, 1/13). The Baucus version is expected to be introduced to the Commerce Committee this week, with a vote “soon after,” according to the Journal. Some Republican senators at a meeting last week expressed concerns on every side repealing the ban but did not say that it would produce them to vote against the bill, according to people buddy-buddy with the issue. On the other hand, Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who supports upholding the ban, said that adding the condition to the final bill would make it “difficult for multitudinous Republicans to support final transition.” According to the Newspaper, some Republican lawmakers already prevent the SCHIP bill regardless of the prohibit (Wall Way Documentation, 1/13).

Group Endorses House SCHIP Bill
Divided We Fail, a coalition comprising business, labor and seniors’ groups, on Monday issued a letter addressed to congressional leaders endorsing the House version of the SCHIP bill. The letter states, “On behalf of Divided We Fail, we urge you to act promptly to reauthorize and strengthen the State Children’s Health Insurance Program,” adding, “The carefully crafted legislation you are considering enjoys wide bipartisan support.” The letter was signed by AARP, the Service Employees International Union, the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Business (Young, The Hill, 1/12).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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