In a Feb. 4, 2009, memorandum to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), President Obama has ordered HHS to withdraw two letters to state health officials that had limited the flexibility of the states in determining eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The first letter, dated Aug. 17, 2007, had limited the states’ flexibility in expanding SCHIP eligibility to children in families with effective family income levels above 250 percent of the federal poverty level. A May 7, 2008, letter reiterated the requirements of the 2007 letter. Both letters were issued by HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The president’s memorandum alleges that “tens of thousands of children have been denied health care coverage” as a result of the two CMS letters.
Read the memorandum.
