Missouri Should Promote CHIP Program, Not Impose Limits, Editorial Says

Missouri lawmakers "should be doing more to publicize" the state's CHIP program, but instead, state Rep. Patrick Naeger (R) introduced a bill (HB 874) last week that would decrease the program's income eligibility limit from 300% of the poverty level to 225%, thereby "preventing thousands of uninsured, low-income children from participating," a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial states. The bill also would increase the number of participants who pay premiums and copays. Currently, individuals in higher income levels can enroll their children in the program if they demonstrate their children have been without insurance for six months. Those parents then pay a $960 annual premium and $9 per doctor visit. The editorial maintains that Missouri's percentage of uninsured people is "well below the national average," mostly due to the CHIP program, which is "widely considered among the nation's best." Naeger's proposal to change the program's income eligibility limits comes in the wake of a $300 million budget shortfall, some of which is related to increased spending on Medicaid, but the editorial says the shortfall is not the result of spending on the CHIP program. Rather, the spending increase comes from services for the elderly and people with disabilities. For instance, prescription drug costs account for one-quarter of the increase and long term care represents "another large chunk" of the state's spending on Medicaid. In contrast, "basic health care for children is extremely cost effective," and three-quarters of CHIP expenses are subsidized by federal funding, the editorial says. Altering the CHIP program, the editorial states, "will harm children of the working poor, but it won't save Missouri much money." The editorial concludes, "Investing in the health of our children pays big dividends in the long run" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/27).

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