A bipartisan coalition of Senate and House leaders on Sept. 21 announced a bicameral agreement to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for an additional five years. The $35 billion agreement struck by House and Senate negotiators will bring health coverage to approximately 10 million children in need--preserving coverage for all 6.6 million children currently covered by CHIP, and reaching millions more low-income, uninsured American children in the next five years. Read the press release.
UPDATE: With a vote of 67-29, the Senate on Sept. 27 approved H.R. 976 to reauthorize CHIP for an additional five years. However, President Bush threatens to veto the measure; although the Senate passed the bill with a veto-proof majority, the House was 19 votes short of a veto-proof passage, according to the Washington Post.
