Senators continued to debate the reauthorization of a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance (SCHIP) coverage to an additional four million children. The measure would be funded by a tobacco tax increase and would increase spending by $31.5 billion over the next 4 1/2 years.

 

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that nearly 83 percent of the 4.1 million uninsured children who would gain coverage after the implementation of the program are in families with income below eligibility limits. Under current law, legal immigrants must wait for five years before they become eligible for either Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance plan for the poor, or SCHIP. The new plan will be led by former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, now Obama's secretary of health and human services.

 

Bush vetoed two similar bills in 2007, arguing the measure would bring tax increases and the expansion of government health care.

The change affects almost 500,000 Texan children, including 2,254 children in Jones and Taylor counties.

 

“Many Americans face grave economic uncertainty, and it's critical that we move quickly to pass this legislation and send it to President Obama for his signature,” Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., was quoted as saying.

 

The bill will extend the current SCHIP program, which expires at the end of March, to 2013. The program is designed to help families who make too much money to qualify for the Medicaid health program for the poor, but don’t have enough money to pay for private insurance.

The Democrats plan to pay for expanding the SCHIP by increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 61 cents per pack, to 1$ from 39 cents currently.