Federal Update:
State Children’s Health Insurance Program
and Food Stamps
Up for Reauthorization by Congress
Two important programs will be reauthorized by Congress in 2007. Congress reauthorizes (reviews and
funds) major federal programs every five years. Reauthorization is the time for Congress
to make changes and updates to these programs. Both the State Children’s Health Insurance
Program and the Food Stamp Program are up for reauthorization in Congress this year.
State Children’s Health Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization
In 1997, Congress passed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to expand access to
critical health coverage to millions of children nationwide. Following the passage of SCHIP at the
federal level, Maine expanded MaineCare coverage for children. At first this covered children in families
with incomes up to185% of the federal poverty level. Later it was expanded to families with income up
to 200% of the federal poverty level ($33,200 for a family of three).
SCHIP and Medicaid (called MaineCare in Maine) together have successfully covered more children both
nationally and in Maine. Since 1997, the number of uninsured children nationally has been cut by a third.
In Maine, we have seen our uninsured rate for children drop by more than a half.
There are two major issues we will be facing in 2007 with the State Children’s Health Insurance
Program. First, Maine faces a $6.5 million shortfall in federal funding for its SCHIP program in
2007. If these federal funds do not come by the end of the state fiscal year on June 30th, health
coverage for more than 3000 children will be at risk.
Unlike Medicaid, which is an “entitlement,” SCHIP is a “block grant.” Entitlement means that the federal government must provide matching funds for dollars that the state
spends for those eligible for Medicaid. A block grant is a fixed
amount of money given to a state by the federal government. When those funds run out, there
are not more federal funds to support the program. Maine, along with 17 other states, has been so
successful at enrolling children into its programs that the state has used up its entire block grant
amount. This has not been a problem in the past because funds from other states that were not using
all of their block grants were passed on to states that needed it. But now, the total amount of the
federal dollars budgeted for SCHIP is not enough. It is not enough to fund the increased enrollment
in the program nationwide or the dramatic increase in the cost of health care. There is no longer
enough money to redistribute to all of the states in need.
MAIN and MEJP will be working closely with our federal Congressional delegation on a number of
goals for reauthorization of SCHIP, including:
- Providing the SCHIP funding needed to cover more children. States will need
additional federal funding to:
- Ensure that children currently enrolled in SCHIP do not lose coverage and become uninsured; and
- To enroll more uninsured children.
- Protecting and strengthening Medicaid. Medicaid provides critical health coverage for close to
90% of the
children covered through public coverage. Clearly, the Medicaid program is the foundation on which
SCHIP
stands. Medicaid funding must be protected and reauthorization provides an opportunity to strengthen both
SCHIP and Medicaid.
Food Stamp Reauthorization:
Congress will also reauthorize the Food Stamp Program this year. MAIN and MEJP will work closely with
our Congressional delegation to ensure that eligibility and benefit levels are protected. We will
also work to improve the program. For example, there’s concern that food stamp benefits aren’t enough
to buy foods for a healthy diet. Also, current food stamp benefits do not reflect the dramatic
increases in expenses, such as housing and child care, that limit the ability of low-income households
to purchase food. For these reasons, we will advocate for Congress to raise the food stamp benefit.
We are hopeful that these two reauthorizations will provide Congress with the opportunity to strengthen
two critical programs for low-income families and individuals.
MAIN
Update Table of Contents |
MAIN
Home Page |
MEJP Home Page
