Des Moines Register, San Diego Union Tribune Editorials Advise States on CHIP Program Funds, Outreach Efforts

Two editorials last week addressed state CHIP expansions for childless adults and outreach programs for uninsured children who qualify for CHIP and Medicaid. Summaries of the editorials appear below:

• Des Moines Register: States that use CHIP funds to provide health insurance for childless adults may "put health coverage for kids in jeopardy," according to a Register editorial (Des Moines Register, 8/13). A General Accounting Office report released Aug. 6 found that HHS' decision to approve a waiver that allows Arizona to use unspent CHIP funds to cover "previously uninsured" low-income adults, including those who do not have children, "is not consistent" with the CHIP program's "statutory objective" to cover uninsured low-income children, and as a result "is not authorized." The report also said that the waiver could prevent the reallocation of unspent federal CHIP funds to other states that have used their allocations, a requirement under federal law (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/8). The editorial states that children "should be covered and covered more comprehensively" before states use CHIP funds to provide health coverage for adults. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has said that "states should be given more control and flexibility" with their CHIP funds to "create innovative programs," but the editorial concludes that states should not establish the programs "at the expense of low-income children" (Des Moines Register, 8/13).
• San Diego Union Tribune: Many states have "substantial numbers" of uninsured children who qualify for their CHIP and Medicaid programs, and health officials should work to enroll eligible children in the programs, according to a Union Tribune editorial. "The key to reducing the numbers of needlessly uninsured children is outreach," the editorial states. According to surveys, half of the parents of children eligible for CHIP and Medicaid "don't know that their children may qualify" for the programs, the editorial adds. The editorial concludes, "By seeking out and enrolling every child eligible for SCHIP and Medicaid, health officials can solve half the problem. Then they can devote their attention to the other half of uninsured children" (San Diego Union Tribune, 8/13).