Children's Health Insurance Funding Bill Basics

The now 10-year-old State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program currently provides health insurance to about 6 million U.S. children whose families have low incomes, but not low enough to qualify for Medicaid. Unless Congress passes a bill reauthorizing it, funding for the SCHIP program will expire October 1.

While the House, Senate and President Bush all agree that funding for the SCHIP program should continue, the level of that future funding remains an area of considerable disagreement.

Two Bills and One President
The House and Senate have passed different versions of a the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, (H.R. 976) extending funding for the SCHIP program for an additional 5 years, through 2012. Were the program to be renewed as it is now, the SCHIP program would get $25 billion over the next five years.

• The House bill would increase SCHIP funding to $75 billion over the next five years.

• The Senate version would increase SCHIP funding to $60 billion over the next five years.

• The majority of the money to fund both proposals would be generated by raising tobacco taxes.

• President Bush has threatened to veto either version of the bill, and favors increasing SCHIP funding to only $30 billion over the next five years.

A joint Senate-House conference committee is in the process of hammering out differences between the two versions of the SCHIP reauthorization bill.

Also See:
Health Insurance for Uninsured Children
Bush Slashes Health Care for Uninsured Children (Liberal Politics)