The United States Senate voted 66-32 to approve their version of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (H.R. 2). Both California Senators Boxer and Feinstein voted yes for the reauthorization.
The Senate bill would improve access to health care services for children by:
- Reauthorizing the SCHIP program for an additional 4 ½ years
- Providing approximately $31 billion in funding for the program
- Extending coverage to an additional 4 million children, including coverage for legal residents children
- Providing the opportunity for stand alone dental coverage for children
Reauthorizing SCHIP has been one of United Way’s top policy priorities. This version of the legislation will fund insurance coverage for more than 11 million children nationwide. More than $31 billion in federal funding will be available to provide health care for those currently enrolled in the program, and funding to reach four million additional children who now will have access to affordable health care.
We urge the House and Senate to move quickly to send this important legislation to the President’s desk for his signature.
Thank you to all who contacted their office in support of SCHIP.
The issue:
On January 14, 2009 the U.S. House of Representatives voted 289–139 to approve H.R. 2, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. This bill provides $60 billion to provide health insurance coverage to children ages 0 -18 years old. Most of the 7 million children enrolled in SCHIP programs nationwide come from working families who don’t have access to employer sponsored insurance and can’t afford to buy individual coverage. SCHIP helps subsidize insurance coverage.
House Passes SCHIP Reauthorization, Expansion Bill; Senate To Act Soon
California:
The SCHIP program is known in California as Healthy Families, which covers about 900,000 children. However, there still remain almost 700,000 children in California that lack health insurance.
In California, the reauthorization is especially important due to the severity of the economic crisis in the state. With a projected $14 billion deficit for this current year, and more than $40 billion for the next 16 months, the Governor and the Legislature are considering a combination of budget cuts and revenue increases.
Last year, the Governor and Legislature approved an increase in out-of-pocket expenses for Healthy Families (premiums and co-payments)—which will result in tens of thousands of children losing coverage--and a cap on dental services.
Why Now:
Because of the economic downturn and the increase in unemployment, some 1.2 million children have lost employer-sponsored insurance in the past year in California.
State health insurance programs become a particularly vital source of coverage during recessions. As a result, California has seen a surge in monthly enrollment into the Healthy Families program, reaching an average of 30,000 newly enrolled children each month for the past year.