Representing North Carolina’s Ninth District                                                                        

The bill mirrors legislation introduced by Senators Mitch McConnell and Trent Lott, and returns the program to its core mission: providing health care insurance to low-income children.

Joining Camp in introducing the bill are Representatives Charles Boustany (LA-07), who serves on the Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Labor, and Pensions; Kenny Hulshof (MO-09), who serves on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health; and, Sue Myrick (NC-09), who serves on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

"We have been needlessly stalemated for weeks on an issue we all agree on: we have an obligation to provide America’s low-income children with health care coverage," Camp said. "This bill reauthorizes the children’s health insurance program, is fully funded without raising taxes and targets our resources to those most in need: low-income children. Before Congress’ poll numbers drop any lower, I urge the majority to move this bill, protect these children, and then we can begin the larger debate on how to help all American’s afford health insurance. These children have been political pawns long enough. Let’s do our job and cover these kids."

"We should spend additional resources on SCHIP, but that money should go to the people the program was originally intended to help – poor children," Hulshof said. "Rather than expanding SCHIP to those in middle- and upper- income families, a better investment is to enroll uninsured children who qualify but are not enrolled. This bill represents a meaningful step toward a responsible compromise."

"We need a healthy SCHIP program that serves children in need," Myrick said. "That is why I am an original co-sponsor of the Kids First Act. It maintains the principles under which SCHIP was created by ensuring states have the resources to provide healthcare coverage to children and families who need the most help."

"S-CHIP is intended to help poor children in America, and I’m determined to make sure they receive it," Boustany said.

The bill increases state allotments by $14 billion over the next five years, allowing 1.3 million new low income children to be covered. The bill limits new enrollees to 200 percent of poverty, consistent with the original 1997 children’s health insurance program. The House bill bars illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer benefits.

Under the legislation, states that currently have a waiver to cover childless adults could continue to do so until their waiver expired. The federal government, however, would immediately reduce state payments to the current Medicaid matching rate, which is less than the enhanced SCHIP rate. The bill explicitly prohibits states from adding adults to the children’s program in the future.

Unlike the bill the Democrats passed and the President vetoed, the Kids First Act is fully paid for without raising taxes. Instead of relying on tobacco taxes, the program is paid for by limiting the Medicaid matching rate for state administrative expenses to 50 percent, and prohibits states from collecting double payments of Medicaid administrative costs for services also provided in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

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