Senate Finance Committee Approves Bill Allowing Disabled Children to Buy in to Medicaid

The Senate Finance Committee on July 11 approved by voice vote a bill (S 321) that would allow families with severely disabled children but whose income levels make them ineligible for Medicaid to buy into the program, CongressDaily reports. Under the measure, disabled children in families with annual incomes up to 250% of the poverty level, or $45,000 for a family of four, would be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits (Rovner, CongressDaily, 7/11). Current income eligibility limits are 133% of the poverty level for children under age 6 and 100% of the poverty level for children ages 6 to 18. The bill would give states the option of changing those eligibility qualifications for disabled children. About 200,000 disabled children would be eligible for coverage under the expansion, National Journal News Service reports (Thyfault, National Journal News Service, 7/11). Sens. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) and Phil Gramm (R-Texas) objected to the bill's cost -- $5.7 billion over 10 years -- and other issues. Nickles said, "I'm concerned about a massive expansion of Medicaid, a program my state is struggling with today." Gramm added that the bill's intention to supplement a family's existing private health coverage is a "pipedream," saying, "Ultimately, private insurance is going to find a way to get out of offering" benefits to disabled children, leaving federal programs to "foot the bill" (CongressDaily, 7/11). But Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the bill's sponsor, said the bill aims to prevent families from spending down their incomes or quitting their jobs to qualify their children for Medicaid (National Journal News Service, 7/11).