Congressman Al Green Moves to Establish Federal Mandate to Require Annual Schip Re-enrollment for All States

(Washington, DC)--Today. Congressman Al Green (TX-09) announced possible federal mandates to regulate the annual State Childrens' Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) re-enrollment. The SCHIP program provides comprehensive health insurance coverage to more than four million low-income children, most of whom would otherwise be uninsured.  SCHIP covers children that do not qualify for Medicaid and is aimed at providing an affordable health insurance option for working families.

Currently children enrolled in SCHIP in the state of Texas are required to re-enroll every 6 months, a process which often pushes some children to drop out of coverage and places an undue burden on those with language and literacy barriers. Between sixty-five and eighty-four percent of the SCHIP program is funded by federal dollars, depending on the state.  Texas SCHIP enrollment fell from 500,000 in 2003 to 300,000 in 2006.  Between 2000 and 2005, Texas has allowed $893 million in federal SCHIP funds to lapse and therefore be sent to other states.

"We have lost our way in the state of Texas and gone from a state that was once a leader in enrollment to one that has neglected children.  Caring for the long-term health of our children is of paramount importance, the health of our children is the health of the future of this great nation.  While we have made progress in our efforts to cover uninsured children through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), barriers to enrollment and re-enrollment are preventing eligible children from obtaining and maintaining coverage through these programs," Congressman Al Green said. "In the coming days, I will be introducing a piece of legislation, The SCHIP Annual Re-enrollment Act, which would mandate that states require families to re-enroll children in the SCHIP program no more than one time per year.  By removing the barriers imposed by the 6 month re-enrollment we can ensure that all children who need and are eligible for health care are able to receive it."

Congressman Al Green's proposed bill, the SCHIP Annual Re-enrollment Act, would require states receiving federal SCHIP matching funds to have annual re-enrollment. Annual re-enrollment promotes continuity of care by assuring eligible families that coverage will be maintained for a predictable period of time.  Also, annual re-enrollment reduces administrative costs associated with disenrollments, re-enrollments, and redeterminations for the states that currently use a 6-month re-enrollment period.