Missouri Children’s Advocates Ask State Legislature To Renew CHIP Program for Five More Years

Missouri legislators and child-advocacy groups on March 6 asked the state Senate's Public Health and Welfare Committee to support a bill that would extend the state's CHIP program through 2007, the Kansas City Star reports. Benefits under the program are set to expire July 1. The $62 million program, known as MC+ for Kids, is a Medicaid-expansion program and covers children in families with annual incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (Wagar, Kansas City Star, 3/7). Currently, about 77,000 children are enrolled in Missouri's program, which costs the state about $17 million per year (Young, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/4). State Sen. Ed Quick (D) presented to the Public Health and Welfare Committee a bill (SB 1111) that would extend the program and maintain its current eligibility standards for five more years. Testifying at the hearing, Kathy Martin, director of the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the program has helped to reduce state expenses by "providing basic care in doctors' offices instead of hospital emergency rooms."

Other Bill Would Reduce Eligibility
Although no one testified against Quick's bill, Missouri's CHIP program has been criticized by some lawmakers for its high income eligibility limits, the Star reports (Kansas City Star, 3/7). State Rep. Patrick Naeger (R) has introduced a bill ( HB 1346) that would reduce CHIP program eligibility for new applicants, only covering children in households earning up to 225% of the federal poverty level (HB 1346 text). Naeger said, "Medicaid, for goodness sakes, is an entitlement for the poor and the indigent. It's not a free way to health care for anybody that's willing to pay a small premium or anybody that's too lazy to put their kids on their plan at work" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/4).

'Extend the Program,' Editorial Says
The MC+ for Kids program is "an extraordinarily good deal" and lawmakers should pass legislation to renew it under the current eligibility standards, a Post-Dispatch editorial states. As a result of the program, the number of uninsured children in Missouri has "plummeted," preventable hospitalizations among children have decreased by more than 33% and asthma-related emergency room visits have fallen by 20%, the editorial asserts. Although Naeger has criticized the current CHIP program for covering children in families with higher incomes, the Post-Dispatch writes that "[e]ven for middle-class families with children who have chronic illnesses, health insurance on the individual market can be unaffordable or unobtainable." The editorial concludes, "MC+ for Kids is one of the best investments Missouri taxpayers can make in our state's children. Lawmakers should not hesitate to extend the program" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/6).