SCHIP

October 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, applauded the move by the Finance Committee to prevent an effort to dismantle the successful Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Preserving the program and protecting children in the health care reform debate has been one of Senator Casey’s top priorities.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded grants of $200,000 to the Garrett County Health Department and $988,177 to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to help find and enroll children who are uninsured but who are eligible for either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Medical Homes Act this week to improve health care quality by helping states implement patient-centered medical home programs under Medicaid and SCHIP.    » read more »

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Provides funds to Help Maximize Children's Enrollment in Health Insurance

March 11, 2009 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) will receive $1 million in funding and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to increase enrollment and retention of eligible children in Virginia's health insurance programs, known as FAMIS and FAMIS Plus (children's Medicaid).    » read more »

March 5, 2009 -- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon today released the following statement on Wednesday's House vote against an amendment to expand S-CHIP funding in the FY09 supplemental budget bill:

"Yesterday, the Missouri House of Representatives turned down an opportunity to provide health care to 2,000 Missouri children, eliminate premiums for 19,000 others and take the first step to enroll 20,000 more children.

By refusing to make a minimal investment of $1.9 million in the health of our kids, House Republicans turned away $5.5 million in federal matching funds from the Children's Health Insurance Program and sent a disappointing signal that health care for Missouri children is not one of their priorities.    » read more »

February 5th, 2009 -- After Gregory Secrest lost his job at American of Martinsville, a Virginia-based furniture manufacturer, he also lost his access to healthcare.

"When I gave the bad news to my family, my 9-year old son handed me his piggy bank with $4 inside and said 'daddy, if you need it, you take it,'" Secrest said.

But thanks to FAMIS, Virginia’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Secrest children will be covered.

"In a decent society, there are certain obligations that are not subject to tradeoffs or negotiations, and health care for our children is one of those obligations," the President said in remarks before signing legislation that reauthorizes federal funding for the CHIP programs and expands its coverage from 7 to 11 million children.    » read more »

Governor Paterson Joined President Obama Today at the White House for the Signing of Significant Federal Health Care Legislation

February 4, 2009 -- "Today we celebrate a huge step forward in our efforts in New York State and across this nation to ensure that all children get the opportunity to grow up healthy. I applaud President Obama and Congress for working quickly to achieve consensus on bipartisan legislation reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). I also want to thank the members of the New York Congressional Delegation for working so diligently to ensure that the bill meets the needs of New York’s uninsured children.    » read more »

CHIP

February 4th, 2009 -- President Obama signed the Chidlren's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP) tonight, which renews and expands the plan from 7 million children affected to 11 million.

"This is only the first step," he said. "As I see it, providing coverage for 11 million children is a down payment on my commitment to cover every single American."

We'll have more on CHIP tomorrow, but there's one more thing worth noting -- President Obama is sending a new message, loud and clear, to opponents of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

It came first in remarks this afternoon, following an announcement of strict new executive compensation rules:    » read more »

President Obama Signs Children’s Health Insurance and Federal Tobacco Tax Increase Into Law

2/4/09 -- Statement of Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO:

Earlier this year, the American Lung Association expressed hope that the Obama Administration would prioritize tobacco control and public health. Today, we finally are celebrating a long fought public health victory—a victory that will improve health, increase children’s health care coverage and reduce smoking.    » read more »

February 4, 2009 -- Trenton - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine applauded the passage of federal legislation expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and thanked President Obama for expeditiously signing the bill into law today.

“With President Obama, we finally have a partner in Washington who understands the value of protecting and improving the health of our most vulnerable children,” Governor Corzine said. “When SCHIP was founded and passed in 1997, it was struck as a partnership between the states and the federal government. Now, through a renewed collaboration, millions of children in our country, over 128,000 children in New Jersey alone, will continue to have their health insurance needs met.    » read more »

02/04/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the statement below following President Obama’s signing of bipartisan legislation reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to provide states with a stable source of funding for four and a half years. In California, SCHIP is the primary source of funding for Healthy Families, which covers hundreds of thousands of children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medi-Cal but who can’t afford private insurance.    » read more »

January 26, 2009 -- 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, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today. The announcement comes as Congress is debating reauthorization of SCHIP, which is projected to expand coverage to an additional four million children.

“With unemployment numbers rising and the economy struggling to regain momentum, more and more American families are relying on SCHIP to insure their children get the health coverage they need,” said Acting HHS Secretary Charles Johnson. “It is no surprise that SCHIP enrollment went up in 2008 and we expect this trend to continue well into 2009 if the program is reauthorized.”    » read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. ( January 26, 2009)— Earlier this month, the American Lung Association’s annual State of Tobacco Control report awarded the federal government an F for its low federal cigarette tax. Despite this dismal grade, the Lung Association noted that the new leadership in Washington presented great hope to the public health community. This week, the U.S. Senate will have its first opportunity to move our nation towards a healthier future by voting to increase the federal cigarette tax as a means to fund the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).    » read more »

SCHIP and Health Information Technology Top Priorities For Early Action
Health Care Opinion Leaders Express Overwhelming Support for Expanding Coverage While Simultaneously Addressing Quality, Efficiency and Costs

New York, NY, January 19, 2009—Leaders in health care and health care policy feel strongly that President-elect Barack Obama should pursue an ambitious health care reform agenda that expands coverage while also improving quality and efficiency, and controlling costs. In fact, two-thirds (66%) of those surveyed in the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey said that the new administration should pursue these goals simultaneously.    » read more »

Of All Age Groups, 19-to-29-Year-Olds Most Likely to Be Uninsured

May 30, 2008 -- New York — The number of uninsured young adults in the United States rose to 13.7 million in 2006—an increase from 13.3 million in 2005—making the 19-to-29 age group one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the population without health insurance.

According to a newly updated report from The Commonwealth Fund, 38 percent of high school graduates who do not attend college and 34 percent of college graduates will spend some time uninsured in the year after graduation.    » read more »