The SCHIP
Football

Children’s health care
is tossed around the
Congressional playing field

by Bill Norman

If ever a government program was a political football on the gridiron of partisan politics, it’s the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP — pronounced S-CHIP).

Unfortunately, the football’s unpredictable bounces have the potential to place a hardship on some families that rely on SCHIP to help pay medical bills for their children.

Created by Congress in 1997, SCHIP was intended to provide health insurance for children of families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford to buy private health insurance.

The program has been an important source of health care for many families served by MDA, notes Annie Kennedy, MDA’s vice president for advocacy. She adds that if the pro-

gram is not adequately funded or is canceled in the future, it will result in “the loss of critical medical supports and SCHIP-provided care for thousands of people with neuromuscular disorders.”

At the end of 2007, President Bush signed legislation that gives a temporary respite — until March of 2009 — from SCHIP-related hardships for all those currently enrolled in the program.

The rules of the game

States are each allocated a certain amount of federal funds to help run their SCHIP programs, and also must contribute