SCHIP passes Senate Finance Committee

The Senate Finance Committee passed a bill to reauthorize and expand the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) yesterday. The new bill could add as many as four million children to the program's roster, and adds 31.5 billion dollars to the program over the next four and a half years, the AP/Boston Globe reports

In New York, SCHIP is called "Child Health Plus". To receive SCHIP benefits in the state of New York, a child's care provider can make up to 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) ($34,340/year) if the child is less than one year old, 133% of the FPL ($22,836/year) if the child is between one and six, and 100% ($17,710/year)of the FPL if the child is between six and 18. In FY2007, New York spent $324 million of federal money on SCHIP. It also contributed about $174.5 million of state money.

SCHIP is a relatively young program (begun in 1997) funded by the federal government but administered by states to ensure health insurance for children; it was mostly designed for the children of families who have modest incomes but are not eligible for Medicaid. In the fall of 2007, President Bush vetoed two bills sent to him by Congress designed to reauthorize and expand SCHIP. In their place, in December 2007, the President authorized an extension of the plan that would maintain the program without expanding it through the end of March 2009.