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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health, today sent a letter to President Bush voicing his strong opposition to new conditions the Administration has imposed on the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The new conditions will require states to establish a minimum of a one year period of uninsurance for individuals, and assure they have enrolled at least 95 percent of the children in the state below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) who are eligible for either SCHIP or Medicaid before providing health coverage to certain populations of low-income children under CHIP. (A COPY OF THE LETTER FOLLOWS)
Pallone today also announced his intention to address the Administration's changes to CHIP during a House and Senate Conference, which will be held to resolve differences between bills passed in each body that reauthorize the CHIP program. "I am committed to preventing these harmful provisions from going into place," Pallone said. "The CHIP program has wide bi-partisan support, and I believe we can work in Conference to stop these changes before they negatively impact children in New Jersey and across the nation."
President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush,
I am writing to express my extreme concern and disbelief over changes your Administration has proposed to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In a recent letter to state Medicaid Directors, Mr. Dennis Smith, Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations, outlined new conditions that states will have to comply with before providing health coverage to certain populations of low-income children under CHIP.
Most alarming are new requirements that states must establish a minimum of a one year period of uninsurance for individuals prior to receiving coverage, as well as assure they have enrolled at least 95 percent of the children in the state below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) who are eligible for either SCHIP or Medicaid.
It is unacceptable that your Administration would force a child to go without health coverage for a period of one year. Furthermore, the requirement that states assure that they have enrolled 95 percent of the children in the state below 200 percent is untenable as evidenced by the fact that no state in the country can currently meet such a standard.
While Mr. Smith’s letter states that your Administration does not expect “any effect on current enrollees”, if these requirements are implemented, the logical conclusion is that thousands of low-income children from hard-working American families will be forced to join the ranks of the uninsured. In my home state of New Jersey, we estimate that approximately 10,500 children alone could be negatively impacted.
Finally, I am dismayed that the Administration is seeking to implement these new requirements without any public input from the states who are responsible for administering these programs or from Congress, which has been actively working since January to reauthorize CHIP in a manner that increases participation in the program. I urge you to immediately end the ideological battle you have waged on America’s low-income, uninsured children and work with Congress to reauthorize CHIP to ensure that our nation’s children have access to quality health care coverage.
Sincerely,
FRANK PALLONE, JR.
Chairman,
Subcommittee on Health
Committee on Energy and Commerce
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