[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GORTON (for himself and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 365. A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act, to 
allow States to use the funds available under the State children's 
health insurance program for an enhanced matching rate for coverage of 
additional children under the Medicaid program; to the Committee on 
Finance.


                      children's health equity act

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President. In 1997, Congress and the President agreed 
to provide $48 billion over the next 10 years as an incentive to states 
to provide health care coverage to uninsured, low-income children. To 
receive this money, states must expand eligibility levels to children 
living in families with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty 
level.
  Washington State has a strong record of ensuring that its low-income 
kids have access to health care. Five years ago, my state decided to do 
what Congress and the President have just last year required other 
states to do. In 1994, Washington expanded its child Medicaid 
eligibility level to 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) all the 
way through to the age of 18.
  During the negotiations of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act (BBA), 
Congress and the Administration recognized that certain states were 
already undertaking Medicaid expansions up to or above 200 percent of 
FPL, and that they would be allowed to use the new SCHIP funds. 
Unfortunately, this provision was limited to those states that enacted 
expansions on or after March 31, 1997 and disallowed Washington from 
accessing the $230 million in SCHIP funds it had been allocated through 
2002. As a result, Washington State cannot use its SCHIP allotment to 
cover the 90,000 children currently eligible, but not covered for 
health care at or below 200 percent of poverty. Exacerbating this 
inequity is the fact that many states have begun accessing their SCHIP 
allotments to cover kids at poverty levels far below Washington's 
current or past eligibility levels.
  The bill I am introducing today, along with Senator Murray, corrects 
this technicality and is a top priority for the Washington State 
delegation in the 106th Congress. Congresswoman Dunn has introduced a 
companion measure in the House of Representatives that is cosponsored 
by the entire Washington delegation.
  This bipartisan, bicameral initiative represents a thoughtful, 
carefully-crafted response to the unintended consequences of SCHIP and 
brings much needed assistance to children currently at risk. Rather 
than simply changing the effective date included in the BBA, this 
initiative includes strong maintenance of effort language as well as 
incentives for our state to find those 90,000 uninsured kids because we 
feel strongly that they receive the health coverage for which they are 
eligible.
  This bill does not take money from other states nor does it provide 
additional federal subsidies for children the state is now covering, it 
simply allows Washington to continue to do the good work they have 
already started by focusing on new, uninsured children at low income 
levels first.
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