Senate Approves SCHIP Bill That Includes Coverage For Immigrant Pregnant Women, Children

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Parkinson's Disease;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 02 Feb 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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The Senate on Thursday "overwhelmingly" approved a State Children's Health Insurance Program renewal and expansion bill (H.R. 2) that includes a provision that would allow legal immigrant pregnant women and children who have been in the country less than five years to receive state public health benefits, the Washington Post reports. The bill passed by a 66-32 vote that was "largely along party lines," the Post reports. The House approved a similar bill on Jan. 14, and President Obama is expected to sign a final version as early as next week, the Post reports.

The program currently provides health care coverage to about seven million children at a cost of $25 billion. The reauthorization bill also would extend SCHIP coverage to four million additional children at a cost of an additional $32.8 billion (Connolly, Washington Post, 1/30). The expansion would be funded by a 61-cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 1/30).

Current law does not extend Medicaid or SCHIP eligibility for legal immigrants until they have been in the country for five years, the New York Times reports. Jennifer Ng'andu, a health policy specialist at the Hispanic-rights group National Council of La Raza, said that the bill "would end an inequity that we have been trying to eradicate for more than a decade." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said passage of the legislation in both the House and Senate illustrates Democrats' priority of putting "women and children first" (Pear, New York Times, 1/30).

Amendment Proposal Sparks 'Minor' Abortion Debate

The Senate voted 39-59 to reject an amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would have changed the definition of a "child" who is eligible for coverage to begin at the point of conception, CQ Today reports. The amendment proposal triggered a "minor abortion spat" between Hatch and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), according to CQ Today. Hatch said that the amendment was "about children and their health, not abortion," adding that "the life of each of my Senate colleagues did not begin the day we were born." Boxer said, "It appears to me that this amendment is a diversionary amendment ... to a debate about 'when does life begin.'" She added, "This is not the place to have that argument" (Armstrong, CQ Today, 1/29).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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