45 million Americans are currently uninsured, and studies show that one out of every three non-elderly Americans will be uninsured for a significant period of time in their lives. Unfortunately, health care costs continue to rise at rates far greater than the rate of inflation, making health care difficult to afford for many Americans. Health insurance premiums have annually increased at double-digit rates since 2000 and have increased a total of 73 percent in the last five years.
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In the 111th Congress
Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA)
Congress sent the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) to President Obama for his signature earlier this year. I cosponsored this legislation that provides health care to 11 million children in modest-income families. Similar legislation was vetoed twice by President Bush in the 110th Congress.
This bill reauthorizes the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY 2013 and continues coverage for all 7.1 million children currently covered by SCHIP. The bill also extends health care coverage to 4.1 million additional uninsured, low-income children. The immediate expansion of SCHIP will be more cost-effective for taxpayers and states, and will bring direct relief to families who would otherwise have to rely on costly emergency room care for their children.
CHIPRA also included our Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act (ICHIA) as a provision in the legislation. ICHIA gives states the option to cover legal immigrants and lifts the current five year ban that legal immigrants must endure to enroll in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed our Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009 on March 31 by a vote of 404-17, and sent it to the Senate. This legislation establishes and authorizes state grants to provide exams and follow-up treatment for uninsured children identified as having a potential vision disorder. Unless caught early and appropriately treated, vision disorders can lead to irreversible damage that can hinder a child’s normal growth, development, and opportunity to succeed.
Below you can find some of the initiatives that we continue to work on in the 111th Congress.
Ensuring Continuous Coverage under SCHIP Act and Ensuring Continuous Medicaid Coverage for Children Act
These two bills will impact the length of time children will be enrolled in State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) and Medicaid, and will both require states to provide continuous coverage for twelve months for all eligible children. In Texas, SCHIP allows children to reapply for coverage annually, but the state conducts administrative renewal for children in SCHIP in families with income between 185 and 200 percent of the federal poverty line at 6 months. Medicaid requires children to reenroll every six months.
In 2003, cutting Texas CHIP coverage from 12 months to six months caused a 40 percent drop in enrollment.
The never-ending application process has caused many children to fall out of the health care system. They are forced to rely on other costly alternatives. Expanding the SCHIP and Medicaid program enrollment period will reduce avoidable hospitalizations to cut costs-per-child, improve access to well-child care to improve health and comply with federal court requirements, reduce real taxpayer costs by bringing back federal tax dollars to Texas, and further reduce workloads for Texas’ crisis-ridden eligibility system.
The No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza Act
The Center for Disease Control has recently recommended that all children aged 6 months to 18 years be given annual influenza vaccination. It will be hard for pediatricians and nurses to keep up with the increased demand – expected to be an additional 30 million children, while reducing the number of school and work absences.
The No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza Act hopes that by developing a mass immunization infrastructure in our school systems, it will successfully deliver vaccines to school-age children, for whom pandemic attack rates are expected to be highest.
Eliminating the Two-Year Medicare Waiting Period Act of 2009
Currently, 6 million disabled individuals under 65 years of age are subject to the Medicare waiting period, resulting in an estimated 400,000 Americans with disabilities living without health insurance during a time when quality health care is most critical.
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) joined me and introduced companion pieces of legislation, the Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2009. H.R. 1708 and S. 700 will eliminate the two-year delay in coverage for people with severe disabilities who are waiting to become eligible for Medicare coverage. Over 120 organizations across the country have come out in support of this bill
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