Bipartisan Bill Introduced in Senate Would Extend CHIP, Medicaid Coverage, Particularly for Pregnant Women, Infants

A bipartisan group of senators last week introduced a bill (S 1016) that would amend the Social Security Act "to improve the health benefits coverage of infants and children under the Medicaid and state children's health insurance program, and for other purposes." If passed, the "Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act of 2001" would allow a state to enroll low-income, uninsured adult pregnant women in CHIP programs if the state had already set Medicaid eligibility for such women at 185% of poverty. The bill also eliminates cost sharing under CHIP for pregnancy services. In addition, in an effort to improve insurance coverage for infants, the bill would grant automatic coverage eligibility for infants born to certain women enrolled in Title XIX and Title XXI, and would allow states to have continuous eligibility for children up to one year old (S 1016 text, 6/12).

'Start Healthy'
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, state CHIP programs currently "giv[e] states the flexibility to cover prenatal care, labor and delivery services to women under age 19" but exclude adult pregnant women (ACOG Web site, 6/19). The bill, sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), John Corzine (D-N.J.), and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), would allow CHIP programs to cover "pregnancy-related assistance" such as prenatal, delivery and postpartum services, and to other conditions that may "complicate pregnancy." The care would be available to a woman during her pregnancy and through the calendar month in which a 60-day period past delivery ends.

'Stay Healthy'
A second portion of the bill would, among other things, provide states with higher matching payments under Title XIX if it is "certified" that the state has met seven out of nine requirements. The requirements include the use of a "uniform, simplified application form" by the state, elimination of the assets test for health benefits, the existence of a "coordinated enrollment process" and compliance with enrollment outstationing requirements (S 1016 text, 6/20).