KHI NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 31
The U.S. Senate on Monday agreed to debate an expansion of children”s health insurance.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the U.S. House worked out how they would make their version of the bill reauthorizing the State Children”s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) comply with the chamber”s pay-as-you-go budget rules.
Both houses are expected to act this week on their respective measures expanding the program. SCHIP covers children in low-income families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. In Kansas, about 35,000 children benefit.
In the Senate,
HR 976
, a tax bill which will become that chamber”s vehicle for SCHIP reauthorization, has been placed on the chamber”s debate schedule for 10 a.m. Wednesday.
In the House, Democrats have reportedly agreed how to bring their preferred measure,
HR 3162
, into balance with House budget rules, which require offsets for any new spending.
In the House last week, the Ways and Means Committee approved expanding SCHIP by $47.8 billion over the next five years, paying for it mostly with higher tobacco taxes and cuts in Medicare Advantage, a program that provides benefits to seniors through private insurers.
But the bill still lacks enough offsets. It would add $76.9 billion to the deficit over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
According to Congressional Quarterly reports, House Democrats plan to make up that difference by reducing bonuses states would get for enrolling children in SCHIP and scaling back its planned reversal of scheduled cuts in Medicare physician reimbursements.
The current SCHIP bill is scheduled to expire Sept. 30.