| House OKs end to limits on CHIP
AUSTIN -- Thousands more El Paso children could get health insurance under a bill the Texas House tentatively approved Tuesday. "Texas is the state that has the highest percentage of uninsured kids in the country," said state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, author of the bill. "This is a step today that could reverse that." The bill, which passed 126-16, would reduce restrictions on Children's Health Insurance Program enrollment and allow more than 100,000 additional Texas children in the program, according to a legislative analysis. It would undo some changes legislators -- trying to save money because of a nearly $10 billion shortfall -- made to CHIP in 2003. "It doesn't reinstate all the children, but a good portion," said state Rep. Norma Chávez, D-El Paso, a bill sponsor.
Johnson and Miller: Invest in kids' health
Sometimes a dollar is just a dollar, but in the case of the Children?s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), one dollar equals $3.64. The fiscally responsible approach to funding a program in Texas should include the overall impact on the taxpayer at local, state and federal levels. For example, for each state dollar invested in CHIP, Texas receives $2.64 in federal matching funds (which come, of course, from Texas taxpayers). And the reverse is true — if we do not put up the dollar, we actually lose our $2.64 to other states. So far, Texas has forfeited more than $900 million in Texas federal matching funds by not fully funding CHIP. These funds have been returned to the U.S. Treasury and spent by other states. Most recently, the state sought to ?save? money in 2003 by removing 180,000 children from CHIP coverage.
Texas health care gets welcome House call
This week's vote on the state's Children's Health Insurance Program demonstrated a refreshing bipartisanship among members of the Texas House, who came together to pass reasonable measures to improve the health care of Texas children. Now it's up to the Senate to finish the job of expanding health coverage for lower-income children. .
Homer pleased with passage of CHIP bill
State Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris, expresses pleasure that more children of the working poor in Texas would have access to the states low-cost health program under legislation passed Wednesday by the House.
The bill moves to the Senate, where observers believe it will have a tougher time emerging intact.
The proposal dismantles several changes that the Legislature made in 2003, when the state faced a $10 billion budget shortfall and cut spending on state services like the Childrens Health Insurance Program.
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Texas Physicians and Hospitals Join State Legislators to Ensure ...
AUSTIN, Texas, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 400 Texas physicians, medical students, and hospital leaders rallied state legislators today to pass legislation that would provide health insurance to thousands of Texas children. Physician and hospital leaders from across the state joined state Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston); House Bill 109 author, John Davis (R-Houston); Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin); and Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) to encourage their colleagues to pass HB 109. The bill would restore 12 months of continuous coverage for kids in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), establish a more realistic asset test for working families, and remove the 90-day waiting period for uninsured children. Health care leaders believe restoring the cuts made to CHIP in 2003 is a critical and important first step in reducing the number of uninsured children.
Lawmakers push for children's health
A pair of East Texas lawmakers joined the fight this week to partially restore the Children's Health Insurance Program to Texas children. A round of budget cuts and other changes in 2003 axed an estimated 250,000 childen from CHIP. Both state Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, and Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, voted in favor of House Bill 109. The bill was approved on final reading Wednesday, according to Hughes. The bill is expected to head to the Senate for consideration where state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, said it will have his support. He was not sure of the bill's chances of passing in the Senate. "I fully support the House bill and will support it in the Senate where I will work to get it passed," Eltife said late Wednesday afternoon. Merritt said if the bill becomes law, it will mean more children of Texas' working poor would have access to the state's low-cost health insurance program.
House Debates CHIP Reform
(April 3, 2007)--More Texas children of the working poor would have access to the state's low-cost health insurance program under a measure the House debated Tuesday. The proposal would dismantle several changes that the Legislature made in 2003, when the state faced a $10 billion budget shortfall and cut spending on state services like the Children's Health Insurance Program. The proposal by Rep. Sylvester Turner, R-Houston, would let parents re-enroll in the CHIP plan every year instead of every six months. The proposal also would eliminate a 90-day waiting period unless the child had recently been covered in another insurance plan. Conservatives have voiced concern with the 12-month enrollment period in Turner's bill. They say making families re-enroll twice a year ensures only eligible children receive the benefits.
Measure intended to insure more Texas children
AUSTIN More children of the working poor would have access to low-cost health insurance under a plan tentatively approved today in the Texas House. Final approve could come tomorrow, then the bill would move to the Senate. The measure would dismantle several changes made by the 2003 Legislature, when Texas faced a budget shortfall and cut spending on the Children's Health Insurance Program. The bill by Representative Sylvester Turner of Houston would let parents re-enroll in CHIP every year -- instead of every six months. The measure also would eliminate the 90-day waiting period unless the child had recently been covered in another insurance plan. Backers say allowing for 12-month eligibility periods would save the state money by treating them before they end up in costly emergency rooms and county hospitals.
Texas Children Must Have Health Care Coverage
Nearly 400 Texas physicians, medical students, and hospital leaders rallied state legislators today to pass legislation that would provide health insurance to thousands of Texas children.Physician and hospital leaders from across the state joined state Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston); House Bill 109 author, John Davis (R-Houston); Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin); and Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) to encourage their colleagues to pass HB 109. The bill would restore 12 months of continuous coverage for kids in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), establish a more realistic asset test for working families, and remove the 90-day waiting period for uninsured children.Health care leaders believe restoring the cuts made to CHIP in 2003 is a critical and important first step in reducing the number of uninsured children.
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