The House passed a bill Wednesday to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), with the Senate scheduled to mark up a bill sometime Thursday.
Congress is preparing for swift action on SCHIP under the incoming Obama administration after years of battling with President Bush to get a law on the books.
Last year, after several failed attempts to override a presidential veto, Congress passed an extension on funding for SCHIP through March 31, 2009.
The new bill will reauthorize the program for 4.5 years and will cover approximately 4.1 million additional children who would otherwise be uninsured. The program already provides coverage for 7 million children.
States have been struggling with a decreased tax base and rising uninsured under the depressed economy. Lawmakers say this bill would mark the beginning of U.S. healthcare reform.
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, commended the House for passing the bill.
"This achievement is an important building block for comprehensive healthcare reform. Expanding coverage for kids moves us one step closer to ensuring every American has access to high-quality, affordable healthcare coverage," she said.
David Merritt, project director for the Center for Health Transformation, said he feels confident from conversations on Capitol Hill that the SCHIP bill will move through Congress. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif. ) said the new SCHIP bill would be among the first healthcare bills considered in the new Congress under the incoming Obama administration.
In addition to funding and expanding the SCHIP program, the bill would give states the option to end the five-year waiting period for low-income, uninsured children who are legal residents. "This is far from healthcare reform, but it is a necessary start," Waxman said.
"The current economic crisis makes reauthorization of this program essential," said former House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich. ) . "It is clear that the time to act is now."