Joe loves war, hates children

Joe deserves to be replaced in Congress for this vote alone. Here's what the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) does.
Washington, D.C. – A bipartisan coalition of Senate and House leaders today announced a bicameral agreement to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for an additional five years. CHIP provides health coverage to American children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can’t afford private insurance. The $35 billion agreement struck by House and Senate negotiators will bring health coverage to approximately ten million children in need – preserving coverage for all 6.6 million children currently covered by CHIP, and reaching millions more low-income, uninsured American children in the next five years.

Below is an outline of the agreement, which is designed to target specifically the lowest-income uninsured American children for outreach and enrollment. The agreement does not call for CHIP coverage for children in families at higher income levels. Instead, it reduces Federal matching funds for future coverage of children at higher income levels, and provides incentives to cover the lowest-income children instead. CHIP coverage of childless adults and parents will be phased out to maintain the program’s focus on kids.

Investing $35 Billion in New Funding for CHIP. The agreement reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program, investing an additional $35 billion over five years to strengthen CHIP’s financing, increase health insurance coverage for low-income children, and improve the quality of health care children receive.

Lowering the rate of uninsured low-income children. The agreement will provide health coverage to millions of low-income children who are currently uninsured. The bill also ensures that the 6.6 million children who currently participate in CHIP continue to receive health coverage. Pending final Congressional Budget Office estimates, the reduction in the number of uninsured children will approach four million children.

Improving Access to Benefits for Children (Dental Coverage/Mental Health Parity/EPSDT). Under the agreement, quality dental coverage will be provided to all children enrolled in CHIP. The agreement also ensures states will offer mental health services on par with medical and surgical benefits covered under CHIP, and protects medically necessary benefits (EPSDT) for low-income children.

Prioritizing children’s coverage. The agreement makes several modifications as it relates to populations eligible for CHIP.

Pregnant Women: The agreement provides coverage to pregnant women as a new state option as well as preserving the options to cover them through a state waiver or through regulation.

Parents: The agreement prohibits any new waivers to cover parents in the CHIP program. States that have received waivers to cover low-income parents under CHIP will be allowed to transition parents into a separate block grant. The federal match for services to parents covered through CHIP will be reduced.

Childless Adults: The agreement retains the current law prohibition of waivers to allow coverage of childless adults. Currently covered childless adults will transition off CHIP. For states that have received CHIP waivers to cover childless adults, the agreement terminates those waivers after a one-year period, provides temporary Medicaid funding for already-enrolled adults, and allows states to apply for a Medicaid waiver for coverage.

Providing states with incentives to lower the rate of uninsured low income children. Under the financing structure, states will receive state-based allotments that are responsive to state demographic and national spending trends and allow additional up-front funding for states planning improvements. States that face a funding shortfall and meet enrollment goals will receive an adjustment payment to ensure that no child who is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP is denied coverage or placed on a waiting list. The formula also sets in place new overall caps on federal funding to ensure the program’s expenditures do not exceed the amounts authorized. The agreement provides incentives for states to lower the rate uninsured children by enrolling eligible children in CHIP or Medicaid.

Agreement Replaces CMS August 17th Letter to States. The Congress agrees with the President on the importance of covering low-income children have health coverage while taking steps to address crowd-out and prioritize coverage of lower income children. The agreement replaces the flawed CMS August 17th letter to states with a more thoughtful and appropriate approach. In place of the CMS letter, the agreement gives states time and assistance in developing and implementing best practices to address crowd out. The agreement also puts the lowest income children first in line by phasing in a new requirement for coverage of low-income children as a condition of receiving CHIP funding for coverage of children above 300 percent of the poverty level.

Improving Outreach Tools to Simplify and Streamline Enrollment of Eligible Children. The agreement provides $100 million in grants for new outreach activities to states, local governments, schools, community-based organizations, safety-net providers and others.

Improving the Quality of Health Care for Low-Income Children. The agreement establishes a new quality child health initiative to develop and implement quality measures and improve state reporting of quality data.

Improving Access to Private Coverage Options. The agreement expands on current premium assistance options for states. The agreement allows states to offer a premium assistance subsidy for qualified, cost-effective employer-sponsored coverage to children eligible for CHIP and who have access to such coverage. It also changes the federal rules governing employer-sponsored insurance to make it easier for states and employers to offer premium assistance programs.

Legislative language is currently being finalized, and will be available Monday. The House of Representatives will likely vote on legislation implementing this agreement on Tuesday of next week. The Senate will take up the measure shortly thereafter, to deliver a full renewal of the Children’s Health Insurance Program to the President for signature into law before CHIP’s current authorization expires on September 30.