[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   CHILD HEALTH INSURANCE LEGISLATION

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce this morning that 
I will soon be introducing legislation to expand access to health 
insurance for children.
  About 2\1/2\ years ago, Congress passed the State Child Health 
Insurance Program as part of the Balanced Budget Act. That program 
established a partnership between the States and the Federal 
Government, with the mission of making health insurance accessible to 5 
million of the Nation's estimated 10 million uninsured children. The 
target population of that program was and remains parents who make too 
much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy policies in the 
expensive individual market.
  The program has been, by and large, a success. A significant number 
of children who would otherwise not have health insurance now have that 
insurance. As successful as that program has been, there is still, 
though, a considerable way to go. It was, after all, designed to 
provide insurance for only half of the Nation's uninsured children, and 
we must not forget the other half.
  Mr. Speaker, last week Vice President Gore brought renewed attention 
to this issue, reminding everyone that the job is not done. In Los 
Angeles, he announced a plan he will be pursuing to make health 
insurance available to every child in the country by the year 2005.
  I think it is important to note that the Vice President's observation 
that the State health insurance program needs to be expanded is a view 
shared by many, if not every State in the country. A number of States 
have already taken voluntary action to go beyond the terms of their 
partnership with the Federal Government to make their child health 
insurance programs accessible to as many children as possible.
  In my home State of New Jersey, for example, the income eligibility 
threshold for participation in the program has been raised from 200 
percent to 350 percent of the poverty level. That means in New Jersey a 
family of four with an income of about $57,500 would be eligible to 
participate in the program.
  The State legislature in New Jersey has also passed a number of bills 
that would expand access and improve outreach, which has been a 
significant impediment for signing up eligible children in many of the 
States.
  Mr. Speaker, the Vice President and the States have it right. We must 
pass a program to cover every child in the country, not just half the 
children. To that end, I will soon be introducing my own bill to 
further the momentum created by the States and the Vice President to 
address this vital national need.
  Like the Vice President's plan, my bill will expand the CHIP program 
to children beyond those in families at 200 percent of the poverty 
level. It will, however, go a bit further than what the Vice President 
has proposed. Instead of expanding the program to include those at 250 
percent of poverty, my bill will follow New Jersey's example and expand 
it to families at 350 percent of poverty. States that elect to increase 
the eligibility level to 350 percent would receive increased Federal 
funds to help meet the costs.
  In addition, my bill will include two provisions to help boost 
enrollment in the program. The first will provide incentives for States 
to pass laws by a date certain to authorize hospitals to enroll on the 
spot eligible children who have been brought into the hospital for 
care.
  The second measure would create an incentive for States to pass laws 
to facilitate the recruitment of eligible children who are not enrolled 
in the program. Like the measure in the New Jersey State Senate after 
which it is modeled, this provision will provide a financial incentive 
for schools, day care centers, and health clinics to recruit and enroll 
eligible children in State health insurance programs.
  Mr. Speaker, these measures will go a long way towards helping more 
of the families who the program was intended to help who have so far 
been overlooked. Time has shown that while the kids program, the kids 
care program, has been successful, it will not be enough to insure all 
of America's uninsured children if the Federal Government fails to 
expand the program.
  I look forward to collaborating with the Vice President to fashion a 
program that achieves our common goals. I hope all of my colleagues 
will join me in supporting a renewed effort to finish the job we 
started in 1997 so every family may live with the security of knowing 
that, at a bare minimum, their children will be taken care of.

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