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| Reps. Berry and Wilson Lead Centrist Effort on Children`s Health Insurance |
February 02, 2007 |
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Back to Heather`s Postcard
Blue Dog Democrats & Main St. Republicans Push to Reauthorize `SCHIP` Program
Washington, DC – Reps. Marion Berry (D-AR) and Heather Wilson (R-NM) are leading an effort among centrist Members of Congress to fight for a federally-funded children`s health program that has expanded health insurance for kids.
Berry and Wilson wrote a letter to Budget Chairman John Spratt (D-SC)and Ranking Member Paul Ryan (R-WI) asking the Budget committee to include sufficient funding to continue the success of the State Children`s Health Insurance Program. The program is up this year for its 10-year reauthorization.
Wilson serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over the program, while Berry serves on the House Budget Committee. SCHIP is funded jointly by the state and federal governments.
In New Mexico, the federal match is 80.35% for FY 2007, which in essence means the state receives $8 for every $2 it spends for the program.
"In New Mexico, the S-CHIP program has allowed 19,000 kids each year to have health coverage," said Wilson. "It`s an important program that keeps kids healthy, and we need to support it. As we work on legislation to reauthorize the program, I will work on improvements to make it more flexible for states like New Mexico."
“Children are our future and we must always fight for their needs to ensure they have the best chance for a successful tomorrow. Providing adequate healthcare for children is not only necessary, it’s the right thing to do and I’m pleased to see my fellow colleagues put aside partisan differences to do what’s best for the kids,” said Berry.
The Wilson-Berry letter, sent today, includes 76 of Wilson`s colleagues: twenty-nine Republicans and 47 Democrats. Most of the members signing the letter are members of one of two centrist groups of House members: The Blue Dog Democrats and the Republican Main Street Partnership.
"This is the first collaborative effort of the year between our two groups," said Wilson. "But I certainly don`t think it will be the last. There are many issues we can work on together, and children`s health is an area where pragmatic legislators of both parties can provide leadership."
SCHIP BACKGROUND
Congress created Title XXI, the State Children`s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to address the growing problem of uninsured children. SCHIP was designed as a federal/state partnership, similar to Medicaid, with the goal of expanding health insurance to children whose families earn too much money to be eligible for Medicaid, but not enough money to purchase private insurance.
The law allows states to set up their SCHIP programs in one of three ways: through Medicaid, via a separate state program or through a combination of both. All 50 states participate in the SCHIP program. For the most part, SCHIP covers children under age 19 in families with income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
SCHIP is a block grant program, not an entitlement, meaning funds for the program are capped at $40 billion over 10 years. Under SCHIP, states receive more federal matching dollars for SCHIP expenditures than under Medicaid.
States have considerable flexibility in the implementation of their SCHIP programs. There are some federal guidelines, but states are given flexibility in the design of benefits, eligibility determination, service delivery and other aspects of their SCHIP programs.
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