Press Release - Governor Rendell Hails Senate Passage of 'Cover All Kids' Legislation
GOVERNOR RENDELL HAILS SENATE PASSAGE OF COVER ALL KIDS' LEGISLATION
ENCOURAGES HOUSE TO APPROVE MEASURE
HARRISBURG Governor Edward G. Rendell today applauded the members of the Pennsylvania Senate after unanimously passing his "Cover All Kids" legislation.
If House Bill 2699 is passed by the House of Representatives, Cover All Kids will enable Pennsylvania's hard working families to purchase affordable health insurance for their children. Currently, 133,000 of Pennsylvania's children are uninsured.
"The members of the Senate have lived up to their promise to pass this bill and make health insurance coverage available to all children in the state," Governor Rendell said. "There is clear evidence that children who aren't covered are more likely to have chronic illnesses, more likely to be hospitalized and less likely to succeed in school. Cover All Kids is the right thing to do for Pennsylvania families, for their children and for our collective future.
"I am hopeful that members of the House of Representatives will promptly approve this measure and send it to me for my signature so we can begin enrolling kids in January," Governor Rendell said.
"Under my Cover All Kids program, parents will be able to afford to insure their children because the monthly cost will be based on how much they can afford to pay," said Governor Rendell.
Currently, CHIP is free for children from families with incomes under $40,000 (family of four - 200 percent of the federal poverty level) and available at a reduced cost for children with family incomes of $47,000 (family of four - 200 percent - 235 percent of FPL).
Under Cover All Kids 100 percent of the parents who currently cannot afford to insure their children will get assistance from the state to ensure that the cost of health insurance for their children is reasonable.
Under House Bill 2699 the monthly cost for parents is based on a sliding scale:
* $36 a month per child for a family earning 200 percent - 250 percent of FPL (under $50,000 for a family of four)
* $50 a month per child for a family earning 250 percent -275 percent of FPL ($50,000- $55,000 for a family of four)
* $57 a month per child for a family earning 275 percent - 300 percent of FPL ($55,000-$60,000 for a family of four)
Families that cannot find or afford private health insurance for their children who are earning above 300 percent of the FPL ($60,000 a month for a family of four) can purchase the coverage at the state cost based on certain eligibility requirements. These families must show that coverage was denied due to a pre-existing condition, or the cost of private coverage totals more than 10 percent of the family's annual income, or the cost of private insurance is one and a half times (150 percent) more than the state monthly per child cost for Cover All Kids.
If parents can purchase coverage for their children through their employer but are unable to afford the full premium, the state will provide assistance to the family to pay the premiums for private insurance, rather than enrolling the child in CHIP - if the cost of the private premium is less than the monthly cost to the state of the Cover All Kids premium.
To discourage parents from dropping private coverage to take advantage of the state subsidy, Cover All Kids has a "go bare period" that requires families show that their child has not had coverage for the last six months, unless the child is two years old or younger. The "go bare period" is not required for infants or for children who have lost coverage because a parent lost their job or they are moving from another public insurance program.
The 2006-07 state budget includes $4.5 million for Cover All Kids, which will be used to draw down additional federal funds. This bill allows the state to step up its outreach for existing programs for children, such as CHIP and Medicaid (MA) to ensure every kid who qualifies is signed up and covered.
http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?A=11&Q=457390