The past two weeks the US has been anxiously awaiting the US Senate’s response to the SCHIP bill that passed in the House of Representatives a few weeks ago. Yesterday, the Senate not only passed the bill but made even more improvements to help US children.
One of the monumental improvements of the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan
(
SCHIP) is it will now be extending mental health parity benefits to millions of recipients for the very first time. The SCHIP was vetoed by former President George Bush twice during his time in office.
Largely due to current economic instability, more Americans are uninsured than ever. Finally, some of the most vulnerable populations like children with disabilities and those in need of mental health services will get the assistance needed to help them thrive.
The bill is aimed at helping children in families with too high an income to qualify for Medicaid yet too low to obtain other health insurance. Highlights of the bill include:
- Elimination of the five year waiting period for children of legal immigrants and expecting women
- Equal limitations for mental health and medical care
- Removal of high co-payments
- Reduction of strict limitations for the number of treatment visits
- Grants to match federal funds for states to provide health care for children who qualify
The burning question in everyone’s mind: where will the funds for the SCHIP come from considering the current economic crises? Lawmakers have already provided an answer to that and are planning to use funds from a new increase in cigarette tax. The tax increase is two-fold in that it will not only help fund the SCHIP but also create a deterrent for adolescents to avoid picking up the bad habit. The bills will be pending reconciliation between the House and the Senate and awaiting President Obama’s approval.
Tags: child healthcare
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 8:39 pm and is filed under Baby Development.
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