Expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) as well as reducing payments to the Medicare Advantage program and reversing a scheduled 10 percent cut to payments to physicians in 2008 are among the elements included in a draft bill to be unveiled by House Democrats this week. According to The New York Times, Democrats hope to push the bill through Congress next week.
An earlier bipartisan agreement in the Senate to expand SCHIP calls for an additional $35 billion for the program; however, the House bill would demand $50 billion. Both bills call for funding to come partially from an increase in the federal tobacco tax.
The nation’s governors also weighed in on the topic on Sunday at their annual meeting in Traverse City, Mich. In a letter to Senate and Congressional leaders, the National Governors Association called for reauthorization of SCHIP, stating that “urgent action is needed” to ensure the continued success of the program. “For many reasons,” states the letter, “defaulting to a series of temporary extensions of the program would be untenable for states and the millions of children who rely upon the program.”
