House, Senate Unable To Resolve Differences Over SCHIP Legislation; New Jersey Gov. Corzine Threatens Lawsuit Challenging SCHIP Eligibility Rules

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 17 Sep 2007 - 11:00 PDT

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House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday were unable to reach a compromise on legislation to reauthorize and expand SCHIP, "increasing the likelihood of a short-term extension" of the program, CQ Today reports. According to CQ Today, lawmakers were unable to resolve the "two biggest points of contention" between the two bill versions: "how much to spend on the program and whether to include provisions on Medicare" (Wayne, CQ Today, 9/12).

SCHIP legislation approved by the House (HR 3162) would reduce payments to Medicare Advantage plans and increase the federal cigarette tax by 45 cents per pack to increase funding for SCHIP by about $50 billion over five years. The bill also would make a number of revisions to Medicare. The Senate version (S 1893) would reauthorize SCHIP and increase the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents per pack to boost funding for the program by $35 billion over five years. House leaders last week reaffirmed their commitment to retaining portions of House SCHIP legislation that would affect Medicare (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/12).

Senators place blame on House Democratic leaders, who have "refused to concede that their bill cannot pass the Senate," according to CQ Today. "Basically, the problem rests with the House," Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said. House Democrats have said that the Senate bill might not pass their chamber with a veto-proof majority -- "or at all" -- because of the higher tobacco tax, CQ Today reports. While House aides acknowledged the lack of progress on SCHIP, they noted that Senate Republicans were responsible for blocking a formal conference committee from convening.

A spokesperson for House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said, "While the size, scope and timing of legislation dealing with SCHIP and Medicare continue to be crafted, there's at least one thing we all know for certain: Democrats all agree that covering uninsured children and preserving Medicare are moral obligations and national imperatives."

If the House and Senate cannot reach an agreement on SCHIP before the program expires on Sept. 30, Congress is expected to pass a short-term extension to fund the program. Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said that negotiations probably will extend to the deadline. "This world's run by deadlines," Baucus said, adding, "Sometimes you have to be up against a wall for people to make a decision" (CQ Today, 9/12).

Eligibility Rules
In related news, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) on Wednesday in a letter to President Bush and HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt wrote that the state would seek legal action against the Bush administration to challenge new rules designed to limit SCHIP enrollment to the lowest-income children, the Newark Star-Ledger reports (Livio, Newark Star-Ledger, 9/13). Corzine wrote that although a letter from the Bush administration outlining the rules "purports to clarify existing requirements, the simple fact is that it sets forth entirely new and unreasonable conditions" (Bergen Record, 9/13).

Corzine wrote, "The practical effect of the new policy would be that thousands of innocent children will lose or be denied health insurance coverage and will be forced to join the growing ranks of the uninsured." He continued, "Please also know that I am prepared, if necessary, to pursue legal action to further the goal of protecting our most vulnerable children."

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) also has threatened to sue over the new guidelines, and lawmakers are introducing legislation to block the rules (Newark Star-Ledger, 9/13).

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© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.