The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was founded in 1997 in order to assist states in providing health
insurance for their resident's children. It was designed to serve an underserved population pocket: those who make too
much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford a private health insurance policy.
The program operates with cooperation from federal and state governments. It receives both federal and
state financing, and while the federal government offers general guidelines, each state determines the over-all design
of the program, eligibility requirements, benefit packages, and costs of benefits. A state may choose to design their
SCHIP program as an independent program, as an expansion/enhancement for their Medicaid program, or they may choose to
do both.
SCHIP Eligibility
Each state is allowed to refine the criteria for their SCHIP eligibility. States who choose to create
their SCHIP program as an independent entity from their Medicaid program have the most flexibility. They can choose to
alter their eligibility requirements and healthcare package with great flexibility. If a state chooses to combine
their SCHIP program with their Medicaid program, they have to comply more with Medicaid eligibility requirements. In
this case, a child must be 18 years-old or under and live in a family with income above the Medicaid requirement, but
not exceeding 200% of the Federal Poverty level, in order to qualify for a SCHIP expansion Medicaid program.
SCHIP Proponents and Opponents
Supporters of The State Children's Health Insurance Program include:
- The National Academy for State Health Policy, an independent academy of state health policy makers, is an advocate
of SCHIP.
- PhRMA, a group of pharmaceutical research companies, also supports SCHIP and works to make the program more
publicly known.
- Many other groups that support health care reform also support SCHIP.
Though President Bush and his associates have not directly said that they do not support SCHIP, their
actions indicate that they may not. As the president moves towards promoting privatized healthcare, funding for
Medicaid and SCHIP is being cut.
The Importance of SCHIP
SHCIP has significantly and postively affected the health of children from low income families.
- More than 30 million low income children are covered by SCHIP and Medicaid.
- Through SCHIP and Medicaid combined, the number of low income uninsured children has been reduced by
one-third.
- Children enrolled in SCHIP have better access to medical care, increased use of preventive care and an increased
likelihood to have a regular source of health care.
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