Congress Approves Bill Providing Healthcare to 11 Million Uninsured Children

Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today passed a bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) voted to approve the Senate’s amendments to a bill providing health care coverage to more than 11 million children nationwide. The House of Representatives voted to approve the U.S. Senate’s amendments to H.R. 2, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act by a vote of 290 - 135.

SCHIP currently provides healthcare coverage to 7 million children of working families. The SCHIP reauthorization would provide coverage to 4.1 million additional children, including 71,400 thousands in Michigan, who are currently eligible but not yet enrolled in SCHIP.

“With Michigan’s unemployment rate up to 10.6 percent, this bill has become even more critical to Michigan families than in recent years,” said Kildee. “114 thousand children in Michigan rely on SCHIP as their only form of health insurance, and this program could benefit thousands more in our state.”

In Michigan, 114,025 children who are currently enrolled in Michigan’s CHIP program would retain their healthcare coverage. The SCHIP reauthorization would provide the resources to enroll an additional 71,400 uninsured Michigan children who are eligible, but not currently signed up, for SCHIP.

“Proper healthcare is critical to the healthy development of children in their formative years,” said Kildee. “Delivering children’s healthcare through SCHIP has been successful and cost-effective since the program’s creation.  It costs far less to provide appropriate, ongoing child care than it does to pay for emergency room visits.” 

The cost of insuring children through SCHIP is minimal when compared to the cost of indigent care and expensive emergency room visits. SCHIP has been one of the most cost-effective methods to insure children, and H.R. 2 extends coverage to more than 4 million new children without adding to the deficit. The bill is paid for by an excise tax on cigarettes.

SCHIP was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage to children in modest-income families that earn too much for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance. The new drive to enact the SCHIP reauthorization bill demonstrates that change has come to Washington. President George W. Bush vetoed similar legislation twice in his last term in office. Now, with the signature of President Obama, this bill will become law.