Lawmakers Continue Negotiations on Medicaid Buy-In for Children with Disabilities

Negotiations over a bill (S 321) that would permit low-income families with severely disabled children to buy in to the Medicaid program will continue on Oct. 21, CongressDaily reports. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) last week met with House and Senate aides to try to reconcile the current version of the "Family Opportunity Act of 2002" with measures supported by House Energy and Commerce Chair Billy Tauzin (R-La.) (Fulton, CongressDaily, 10/18). Under the Senate bill, disabled children in families with incomes up to 250% of the federal poverty level, or $45,000 for a family of four, would be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits. Current income eligibility limits are 133% of the poverty level for children younger than 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 additional disabled children would be eligible for coverage under the expansion. Tauzin supports a change in the bill that would provide states the option of offering the coverage through either their Medicaid or CHIP programs (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/16). Both Democratic and Republican aides say the negotiators hope to reach a compromise within two weeks for Congress to consider when it resumes next month. Laurel Stine, director of federal relations for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, said, "We hope that through these continued meetings, [House and Senate] members remain committed to the families of these children," adding, "All of us are a little anxious to see what's being discussed" (CongressDaily, 10/18).