SCHIP Bill Advocates Shift Focus To Short-Term Program Extension

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 29 Nov 2007 - 7:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

States and children's groups are calling on lawmakers to abandon efforts to pass legislation that would reauthorize and expand SCHIP, and instead are lobbying for a short-term extension of the program "out of concern that money is running short," CQ Today reports.

The program currently is being funded at fiscal year 2007 levels through a continuing resolution that expires Dec. 14. Some House Democrats have proposed extending funding for the program until the end of FY 2008 on Sept. 30, "just in time to raise the issue again before the November elections," CQ Today reports. Lawmakers in the Senate also are discussing a two-year extension of the program, according to Lisa Shapiro, vice president for health policy at First Focus.

However, Congress "might have as much difficulty with an extension as it has had with a full reauthorization" because the "sticking points in this year's debate have been less over money and more over policy changes advocated by Republicans," CQ Today reports. Those issues, including restrictions on SCHIP coverage for adults and tighter rules aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from enrolling in the program, "could arise during debate on an extension," according to CQ Today.

Democrats also likely will attempt to negate rules implemented by CMS in August that would require states to enroll at least 95% of children in families with annual incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level before expanding enrollment to children in families with incomes above 250% of the poverty level. President Bush "would likely use his veto power, just as he had with the full reauthorization," if Democrats negate those rules in an extension, CQ Today reports.

Shapiro said, "We've been working on the broader bill all year long. Basically, we think they've run out of time," adding, "I think an extension is going to be a challenge also," but "just by the price tag, it's going to be a smaller scale than the $35 billion reauthorization" (Wayne, CQ Today, 11/27).

Wisconsin Waiver
In related news, Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems on Tuesday announced that Wisconsin has been granted a federal waiver to expand SCHIP coverage to children in families with incomes up to 250% of the poverty level, CQ HealthBeat reports. The waiver will allow the state to provide coverage for an additional 7,600 children, according to a CMS release. The state originally had requested to enroll children in families with incomes up to 300% of the poverty level but modified its request to comply with the CMS rules.

According to the release, Wisconsin "estimates that about 92% of children below 200% of the federal poverty level have health insurance." Wisconsin's program addresses crowd-out by requiring a period of uninsurance before children can be eligible for coverage. In addition, the state has agreed to transition adults from SCHIP to Medicaid. Weems said, "Today's announcement shows how CMS and states can work together to ensure that children in low-income families have access to health insurance" (CQ HealthBeat, 11/27).

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.

• Additional
• References
• Citations