Minnesota Officials Meet With Thompson to Request CHIP Funding

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) met with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Feb. 27 to discuss "cutting red tape" that has prevented the state from "fully tapping into" CHIP funds, including $85 million in federal matching dollars allocated to the state in the program's first three years, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports (Howatt, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2/28). Because Minnesota had a children's insurance program, known as MinnesotaCare, in place before the CHIP program began in 1997, by law, the state is not eligible to use federal CHIP dollars to fund the population covered prior to 1997. As a result, the state has attempted to receive a federal waiver to "access millions of dollars" for children's health care, but has been unable to do so "for years" (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 2/5). Given CHIP's regulations, the "catch-22" for Minnesota "is that it can't re-create MinnesotaCare and it can't substantially expand it because it's already very inclusive," according to the Star Tribune. To preserve the state's claim on CHIP funds, state officials in 1998 "slightly expanded" MinnesotaCare eligibility requirements, enabling the enrollment of 24 additional children (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2/28). Currently, MinnesotaCare covers 61,000 children, whose families must earn 275% of the federal poverty level or less, or an annual income of less than $47,000 for a family of four, to be eligible. To participate, families pay a premium based on their income and family size (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 2/5). Federal approval of the Minnesota waiver would free up the $37 million in CHIP funds for which Minnesota is eligible in 2001, in addition to making the state eligible for some of the CHIP money it did not receive in the first three years of the CHIP program. State Human Services Commissioner Michael O'Keefe said that since Thompson "came on board" as HHS secretary, federal officials have appeared to be more responsive to Minnesota's requests. The state currently spends $118 million annually on MinnesotaCare (Howatt, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2/28).