House Expected To Approve SCHIP Bill That Includes Coverage For Immigrant Pregnant Women

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 15 Jan 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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The House on Wednesday is expected to approve State Children's Health Insurance Program renewal and expansion legislation (H.R. 2) that would extend coverage to about four million additional children and also allow states to extend public health benefits to some immigrant pregnant women, the Washington Post reports. Seven million children currently are enrolled in SCHIP, which provides health insurance benefits to children in families with incomes at or near the federal poverty level who do not qualify for Medicaid. The bill would be funded primarily through a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax and is estimated to cost $33 billion over four-and-a-half years.

President Bush in 2007 twice vetoed similar legislation. President-elect Barack Obama supports the expansion, and while the bill will not be ready for his signature on Inauguration Day, congressional leaders expect to have the measure on his desk well before the program's March 31 expiration date, the Post reports. Although the House is expected to approve the legislation, "one remaining sticking point" is a provision that would give states the option of allowing legal immigrant pregnant women and children into the program, according to the Post (Murray/Connolly, Washington Post, 1/14). Currently, immigrant pregnant women and children must wait five years before applying for coverage under SCHIP or Medicaid. Supporters estimate that about 400,000 to 600,000 children would gain coverage under SCHIP or Medicaid if all states opted to cover children of immigrants and immigrant pregnant women (Freking, AP/Google.com, 1/14).

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) earlier this week released a Senate version of the bill that would not drop the five-year waiting period for immigrants. However, Baucus said he would support adding the provision to the Senate version as the bill moves forward. According to the Post, the Senate version does add a state option for non-immigrant pregnant women (Washington Post, 1/14).

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