Hoping to revoke restrictions placed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on states that provide State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) coverage to children in families above 250 percent of the federal poverty level, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Better Health for America’s Children Act (S. 2049) in the Senate Sept. 12.
The bill’s sponsors--Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-MA; Gordon Smith, R-OR; Jay Rockefeller, D-WV; and Olympia Snowe, R-ME--said the new CMS policy, if allowed to go forward, would have a “devastating impact” on children’s access to affordable healthcare coverage, and that each state should be allowed to cover children at the income level that is most appropriate for their state.
“The administration should be ashamed of its cruel attempt to revoke this needed coverage, and Congress should not allow the new rule to stand,” said Kennedy.
