Kaiser studies Medicaid/SCHIP eligibility

The Kaiser Foundation has released its eighth annual 50 state survey on Medicaid/SCHIP eligibility. Nationwide, the principal findings of the study were optimistic. It reports that “the commitment to children remains strong” and that many states have broadened Medicaid access in the past year despite economic challenges. The authors noted, however, that it is still more difficult for parents to get Medicaid than children.

The study broadly affirmed that New York has some of the most liberal Medicaid requirements in the country. New York’s Medicaid/SCHIP income eligibility requirements were consistently at or above the national median. Some things that set New York apart:
- New York both working and jobless parents could qualify for Medicaid even if their income was more than 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Nationally, the median cutoff is 68% of FPL for a working parent and 41% of FPL for a jobless parent. (In some states, even working parents must make less than 50% of FPL to qualify for Medicaid, which leads one to wonder how some state legislators interpret the word “poverty”.)
- New York provides Medicaid to pregnant women at 200% of FPL; the national median is 185%.
- New York provides children with SCHIP (In NY, Child Health Plus) up to 400% FPL. When New York passed legislation raising eligibility from 250% to 400%, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) rejected the plan, and children who fall between 250% and 400% are now paid for with state funds.
- New York is one of 23 states in which a an adult working at the state minimum wage qualifies for Medicaid.

The study also discussed ways in which New York’s generous policies are expanding:
- New York has adopted the option to allow children leaving foster care upon reaching age 18 to keep their Medicaid coverage.
- In February 2008, New York introduced a “presumptive eligibility law” for SCHIP.

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.