September 13, 2007
Senate Asked to Nullify New SCHIP Restrictions

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate yesterday would block implementation of guidance issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) August 17 that would block states from enrolling children with family incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Senate sponsors of a bill, the Better Health for Children Act, Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), said the CMS policy would have “a devastating impact” on states’ ability to extend SCHIP to more children. Kennedy noted that a bill already passed by the Senate would allow states to cover children with family incomes up to 300 percent of poverty, and he noted that 18 states, including Massachusetts, already provide SCHIP coverage to families with incomes above the CMS-proposed limit. The new Senate bill, S. 2049, can be read and tracked at http://thomas.loc.gov