In the Wake of Daschle's Withdrawal, Obama Signs Bill to Expand SCHIP Coverage

President Obama signed the bill extending health coverage to millions of low-income children yesterday after it the House gave final approval, according to The New York Times. Many see this as a signal of the president’s clear intention to guarantee coverage for all Americans.

Since August 2007, the House has voted at least seven times for legislation to expand the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program. In a recent blog we explained how Former-president George W. Bush twice vetoed similar legislation. Bush adamantly opposed the legislation on the ground that it would lead to “government-run health care for every American,” reports The Times.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, a California Democrat said that the bill was “a down payment” and “an essential start” to the ultimate goal of health reform. Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed the passage and signing of the bill as the result of the last fall’s historic presidential election, stating:

“This is the beginning of the change that the American people voted for in the last election, and that we will achieve with President Barack Obama.”

One of the major features of the bill is that it allows states to cover certain legal immigrants, who are currently barred from Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for five years after they enter the United States.

According to The Times:

“The bill requires states to verify that people covered by the children’s health program are United States citizens or legal residents. But states are given a new option. Instead of requiring people to produce documents showing citizenship, states can try to verify eligibility by matching a person’s name and Social Security number against federal records.”

In addition to allowing states to extend coverage to legal immigrants without requiring five years of residence, the bill also requires states to provide dental care and equal coverage of mental and physicial illnesses – or “mental health parity" – under the children’s health program.

Expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program comes as Tom Daschle’s withdrawal from nomination for Secretary of Health & Human Services has many worried that the "overhaul" of the U.S. health care system could be seriously delayed, according to Medical News Today.

"Obama is unlikely to find someone with both the health policy experience and congressional connections of Daschle,"

reports CQ Today.

Bill Before Congress Would Extend Health Insurance to Children of Legal Immigrants Sooner

The New York Times reports that Congress will likely pass a bill to provide health insurance to millions of low-income children. Similar legislation was twice vetoed by President Bush in 2007.

Under the proposed legislation, states would have the option to restore health insurance benefits to legal immigrants under 21 as well as pregnant women. Currently, legal immigrants are barred from Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program for the first five years after they enter the United States.

It is estimated that 400,000 to 600,000 immigrant children are affected by the restriction currently in place. The Times notes that:

Among children, legal immigrants are less likely to
receive immunizations and routine dental care.

and

[A]mong women, legal immigrants are less likely to receive
prenatal care.

Opponents of the bill argue that the original purpose of program—to serve the children of the working poor—has not been fulfilled, raising concerns about extending it to legal immigrants and others groups not originally contemplated.

Others argue that the expected costs of the bill would be too great. The program currently covers about 6.6 million children and costs the federal government $5 billion a year. The Times estimates that the passage of the bill could double the annual expense of the program. The expanded program proposed by the new bill would be financed by tobacco taxes.

President-elect Obama has already expressed his support for allowing states to offer health insurance to legal immigrant children before the five-year waiting period is met.

Generally, the bill is garnering significant support from various sectors. Many people feel that all children should have health insurance. There is great support for this proposition as well. By extending health insurance to more children including legal immigrants, not only will children in need of care be provided for, but by providing greater access to preventive care, states will reduce overall health care costs .

First Steps; Web-based Medical Records?

The Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports that the Democrats are at work trying to include some aspects of health reform into the economic stimulus package slated to be unveiled next month.

The plan is said to include help for the Medicaid program. The WSJ Health Blog also stated that “according to the Washington Post, there’s also talk of packing the stimulus package with provisions to retrain medical workers, bolster the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and expand Cobra."

Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee Chairman, is said to have stated that the package will likely include grants and tax breaks for doctors and hospitals to invest in health IT. The Washington Post is said to have reported that it’s sources "cited $10 billion as a potential figure for health IT in the stimulus package." Read full story here.

In a related story, the Health Blog reported that the cousin of President George Bush, athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush, has called for the use of a Web-based platform for health IT initiatives. Athenahealth currently provides a Web-based medical records platform for 17,000 customers. “Bush says. Software ‘isn’t the dominant approach in financial services or retail banking or anywhere else, and it shouldn’t be in health care.’” Read more here.