WASHINGTON – Congress has introduced a bipartisan proposal to expand and streamline the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
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.
According to Emanuel, nearly 9 million children still lack healthcare coverage, and for the first time since 1998 the number 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, he said.
The act will place emphasis on enrolling hard-to-reach populations, while 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.”
The bill has 32 co-sponsors in addition to support from AHIP, the AHA, the Healthcare Leadership Council, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Ascension Health, Kaiser Permanente, the AMA, Johnson & Johnson, Families USA, the Federation of American Hospitals, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Catholic Health Association and the American Public Health Association.