Health
Update on SCHIP
(State Childrens Health Insurance Program)
On October 25th, the U.S House of Representatives passed a newer version of the SCHIP reauthorization legislation (H.R. 3963) with a vote of 265 to 142. The new bill includes substantial revisions that directly address a number of concerns raised by the original bipartisan bill's opponents. A bipartisan SCHIP reauthorization bill was previously passed by the U.S. House and the Senate but later vetoed by the President. The new SCHIP legislation is anticipated to go to the US Senate for a vote next. If it passes in the Senate, it will proceed to the President who will either sign the legislation or veto it again.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this new version of the bill would continue to cover nearly 4 million uninsured children by 2012, at a cost of about $35 billion over five years, fully offset by an increase in federal tobacco taxes.
The new bill would:
- further increase the focus on covering the lowest-income uninsured children;
- tighten the citizenship documentation option; it would ensure that ineligible undocumented immigrants are not enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP, without reducing enrollment among eligible citizen children;
- accelerate the elimination of SCHIP coverage of childless adults; and
- take additional steps to limit “crowd-out” (children now on private insurance switching to public programs).
How did Kentucky’s U.S. Representatives vote on the new SCHIP Reauthorization bill (HR 3963)?
REP. ED WHITFIELD (R - District 1) – NO
REP. RON LEWIS (R - District 2) – NO
REP. JOHN YARMUTH (D - District 3) – YES
REP. GEOFF DAVIS (R - District 4) – NO
REP. HAROLD ROGERS (R - District 5) – NO
REP. BEN CHANDLER (D - District 6) – YES