Some 7.4 million children were enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 2008--a four percent increase over the previous year--according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The announcement comes as Congress is debating reauthorization of SCHIP, which is projected to expand coverage to an additional four million children.
Created in 1997, SCHIP targets uninsured children who live in families with incomes generally around 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($42,000 for a family of four in 2008), which is too high in most states to qualify for Medicaid, but in many cases, too low to afford private coverage. The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 extended the program until March 31, 2009, with an appropriation of $5 billion for each of FY08 and FY09, with FY09 funding available only through March 31, 2009. The legislation also provided $1.6 billion in funding for states with SCHIP budget shortfalls for FY08 and $275 million for state shortfalls through the first two quarters of FY09.
Enrollment data, compiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also show that 334,616 adults were covered with SCHIP funds during 2008.
See 2008 SCHIP enrollment data by state.
