It’s been a while since we’ve blogged about the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). So what’s going on with it?
SCHIP won’t be expanded as much as many lawmakers wanted, but President Bush did budget $20 billion over the next five years for the program.
Opposing legislators and the president were strongly against any expansion in SCHIP coverage, even though over 20 states were knocking on the federal government’s door to allow it.
To make it harder for states to expand coverage, the Bush administration created limitation rules last year on August 17.
The rules say that no state can expand SCHIP unless it proved 95 percent of children under 200 percent of the federal poverty level were covered. They also said there can be no drop in the number of people enrolled in private coverage.
States were against these rules because no one had previously been able to meet either requirement.
Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) challenged the rules from the Bush administration.
GAO lawyers said those rules are a violation of federal law, reported The New York Times. The rules are significantly different from the original SCHIP law, argues the GAO, and must be reviewed and approved by Congress.
Already, several states have sued the White House over the rules. This legal opinion from the GAO stands to strengthen their case. But it’s not stopping the Bush administration from continuing enforcement of the rules.
“GAO’s opinion does not change our conclusion that the August 17 letter is still in effect, ” said a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
That’s not how some states are seeing it.
“The opinion from the Government Accountability Office vindicates our position that the federal government did not have authority to issue the August 17 directive, ” said Deborah S. Bachrach, deputy commissioner for the New York State Health Department.
The whole thing is still up in the air, so we’ll keep you updated.