OVERVIEW
In 1997, Congress enacted the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in an effort to increase health insurance coverage to children of low income families. Federal SCHIP provided states approximately $40 billion over 10 years to give health insurance to children of families that earn too much to make them eligible for Medicaid, yet earn too little to purchase private health insurance.
Just weeks after being sworn into office, President Obama signed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Bill which ensures that those children currently enrolled continue to receive coverage as the program expands to cover more uninsured children nationwide. The reauthorization is paid for by an increase in the federal tobacco tax by $0.62 cents per pack, doubling the excise tax to a total of $1.01 per pack.
California’s SCHIP program, the Healthy Families Program, is the largest program in the nation, currently covering over 1 million children and pregnant women.
ADVOCACY
PPS Implementation
Health Care Reform
On Monday, December 14, 2009, Senator Barbara Boxer indicated she will co-sponsor the Casey CHIP Amendment (#2790) to the Senate health care reform bill (HR 3590). We thank Senator Boxer for supporting this important provision that will help ensure California’s children are better off after health reform.
As it stands currently, the Senate health care reform bill will extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP, known as Healthy Families in California) to 2019, but does not fund the Program past 2013. It also fails to include necessary simplifications and investments that will ensure children get the coverage they need to grow healthy and strong. If CHIP is allowed to expire in 2013, as indicated in the House legislation, more than 600,000 California children would move into the new, untested health insurance “Exchange” that does not guarantee the same cost protections or coverage benefits that are provided through Healthy Families.
With the addition of the Casey Children’s CHIP Amendment to the Senate bill, children’s coverage in California would be maintained and strengthened by:
- Guaranteeing funding for all children eligible for CHIP through 2019;
- Making CHIP more accessible by supporting outreach and enrollment efforts;
- Ensuring children the full range of health and mental health services they need; and
- Ensuring the Exchange includes sufficient safeguards regarding benefits and cost sharing if and when children are transferred into it.
Contact your Senators TODAY to ask them to vote YES on the Casey Chip Amendment (#2790) in the Senate health reform bill!
Senator Boxer Phone: (202) 224-3553 Senator Feinstein Phone: (202) 224-3841
Background Documents
Archive - 2007
CPCA staff worked diligently on this issue with other health care partners for two years – the original legislation expired September 30, 2007 and was extended through March 2009. Of particular interest to CPCA members was ensuring that the Legal Immigrants Children Health Improvement ACT (ICHIA) was included in the final legislation. Once President Obama was sworn into office, the Congress acted swiftly to get this legislation passed.
Advocacy is currently focused on attaining state legislation to implement PPS reimbursement for Healthy Families (CHIP) encounters.
RESOURCES
Websites:
CPCA Supporting Materials:
CPCA STAFF CONTACT
If you have any questions, or need more information, please contact Tahira Bazile at tbazile@cpca.org or Stephanie Berry at sberry@cpca.org. |
