SCHIP Update
DECEMBER 14, 2007

Update (12/14/07):
In an expected move on Dec. 12, President Bush vetoed a bill reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a successful and bipartisan program that has provided health coverage to children from low-wage, working families for ten years. The vetoed SCHIP bill, a modified version of an early one, passed the House on Oct. 25 (265-142) and the Senate (64-30) on November 1.

With this veto, the fact remains that the current temporary extension of the SCHIP program expires Dec. 14. There is the expectation that Congress will pass another brief funding extension lasting until Friday, December 21, to allow it to finish this and other business. A veto-override vote in the House has been delayed until January 23, 2008.

While the ELCA is still set on a full, 5-year reauthorization that insures more eligible children, it also acknowledges the political reality that a temporary extension into 2008 or 2009 is likely. Given that, the ELCA is urging Congress and the President to ensure that any extension fully funds the program so that no children will lose insurance. At current funding levels, 21 states will face SCHIP funding shortfalls in 2008, potentially meaning the loss of health insurance coverage for hundreds of thousands of children currently enrolled in the program unless other financial provisions are made.

Further background (12/12/07):
Members of Congress are back after the Thanksgiving recess and have resumed their closed-door CHIP negotiations. The program continues to operate at last year's funding levels under an extension set to expire December 14th. Congress will need to take action before then to extend the program once again, or pass legislation to reauthorize.

The ELCA is still pushing strongly for a full five-year reauthorization. However, if negotiations are unsuccessful, we hope any future extension will include the additional funding necessary to ensure that no children lose coverage as a result of the stalemate. According to the Congressional Research Service, 21 states are expected to experience SCHIP shortfalls between March and September 2008 if CHIP is only extended at last year's funding levels. Here is the list of states that will experience shortfalls unless Congress and the President act:

March 2008: AK, GA, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, NJ, RI
April 2008: MN, MS
May 2008: MO, NE, ND
June 2008: CA, NC
July 2008: OK
August 2008: AR
September 2008: LA, OH, SD

For background on SCHIP, check out Families USA's SCHIP 101, http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/SCHIP-101.pdf, and for the most recent analysis, visit The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/health.htm .

ELCA Policy Base
The ELCA social statement, Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor (2003) states:

"Our search for justice is a call from God, a concern especially for the 'rights of the needy' (Jeremiah 5:28). Because health is central to personal well-being and functioning in society, a just society is one that supports the health of all its members. Thus, our common effort to provide access to health care for all is a matter of social justice for all people."

"At a minimum, each person should have ready access to basic health care services that include preventive, acute, and chronic physical and mental health care at an affordable cost."

"As the guarantors of justice and promoters of the general welfare, governments also have the unique role of ensuring equitable access to health care for all."