President Obama Signs SCHIP Legislation Giving Insurance to More Children
The measure, which passed Congress on a 290-135 vote, guarantees medical insurance through the States Children's Health Insurance Program.
The program will be expanded by the addition of up to 4 million kids, up from the current 7 million who participate.
President Obama called the signing "a down payment on my commitment to cover every single American".
Republican members of Congress, who in the past have blocked the CHIP program (a watered down version had passed in the previous Congress, but was vetoed by President Bush), expressed reservations, but didn't have the votes to beat the measure this time around.
This is a small victory for the new administration in what is likely to be a protracted battle over health care reform.
Some additional details from the the Associated Press.:
The CHIP program
_ Continues coverage through 2013 for 7 million lower income children.
_ Expands coverage for another 4.1 million uninsured children.
_ Makes 2.4 million children eligible for the program who otherwise might have access to private insurance.
_ Provides an additional $32.8 billion through Sept. 30, 2013, by increasing federal excise taxes on tobacco products. The tax on cigarettes will go up 62 cents to $1.01 a pack.
_ Provides $100 million in grants for states, local governments, schools and others to enroll more eligible children.
_ Requires states to offer a dental benefit.
_ Allows states to offer SCHIP dental coverage to children whose private medical insurance does not cover dentist visits.
_ Allows states to extend SCHIP and Medicaid to newly arrived legal immigrant children and pregnant women.
_ Allows states to use Social Security numbers to verify an applicant's citizenship, making it easier to prove eligibility and enroll in the program.
posted by KJ Wojciechowski at 11:36 AM
Compare health plans and get instant quotes:
|
|
1 Comments:
I love the fact that smokers will be the ones paying for this!
Post a Comment
<< Home