Congress has introduced a bipartisan proposal to expand and streamline State Children's Health Insurance Programs.
Under the Healthy Kids Act of 2007, sponsored by Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.), the federal government would provide financial incentives to states that find ways to increase children's enrollment in SCHIP. It would also provide a tax credit for low-income families to purchase healthcare coverage for their children.
"If there is one thing we can all agree on it is that our children deserve a chance to grow up healthy and strong and it is our responsibility to ensure they have access to quality, affordable health care," Emanuel said in a May 3 statement.
According to Emanuel, nearly nine million children still lack healthcare coverage and for the first time since 1998, the rate of uninsured children has increased from 10.8 percent to 11.2 percent. Two-thirds of these children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, but are not enrolled, Emanuel said.
The Act will place emphasis on enrolling hard-to-reach populations, and children who already qualify for food stamps, the WIC program and school lunches will automatically be eligible, thus easing the enrollment process, Emanuel said.
According to Irwin Redlener, president and founder of the Children's Health Fund, the proposed bill is "a real opportunity to make substantial progress."
"Right now, millions of children are depending on Congress to do the right thing, and that is to pass SCHIP legislation that includes enough funding to both protect children that are currently enrolled and to expand the program to provide coverage for millions more," Redlener said.
So far, the bill has 32 co-sponsors in addition to support from America's Health Insurance Plans, the American Hospital Association, the Healthcare Leadership Council, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Ascension Health, Kaiser Permanente, the American Medical Association, Johnson & Johnson, Families USA, the Federation of American Hospitals, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Catholic Health Association, the American Public Health Association, the Democratic Leadership Council and the Service Employees International Union.