[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 30, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CHILDREN'S EXPRESS LANE TO HEALTH COVERAGE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my 
colleagues to cosponsor bipartisan legislation authored by Senator 
Richard Lugar in the United States Senate and myself in the House of 
Representatives known over here as H.R. 4031. The measure will help 
States in their efforts to enroll income-eligible children in the 
States Children's Health Insurance Program, commonly referred to as 
SCHIP.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, despite gains in recent years, nearly 9 
million children in the United States remain uninsured. Of those, 
nearly 7 million children are eligible for public health insurance 
coverage. H.R. 4031, the Children's Express Lane to Health Coverage 
Act, builds on the successful legislation of the 106th Congress that 
provides States with the option of using the National School Lunch 
Program, the Women's, Infants, and Children Program to identify 
uninsured children eligible for benefits under the SCHIP and Medicare 
program. Many States have used this cost-saving option successfully to 
promote the well-being of income-eligible children.
  While existing law does allow children to be income-eligible for WIC 
based on their enrollment in the Medicare program, it does not give the 
States adequate flexibility to make an income determination for 
eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP program based on the uninsured 
child's enrollment in WIC or another public program.
  The Children's Express Lane to Health Coverage Act will give States 
the option of establishing that their Medicaid or SCHIP financial 
eligibility rules are satisfied when a family presents proof that their 
child is already enrolled in another program with comparable income 
levels. Current Federal law does not provide the flexibility that is 
necessary for this.
  If we are to give our children, Mr. Speaker, a jump-start with 
quality health care and quality health insurance, I would encourage 
strongly that my colleagues consider becoming cosponsors of H.R. 4031, 
which is affectionately known as the Children's Express Lane to Health 
Coverage Act. It is vital, it is important, it is for our Nation's 
children.

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