Monday, February 26, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Seeks to Protect Health Care for Children with Bipartisan Coalition of Governors
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt joined a bipartisan coalition of governors from around the country to urge Congress to continue funding for a program that expands children’s access to health care.
“As we work to strengthen Missouri’s health care system and provide health coverage to more Missourians than ever before in our state’s history, the federal government must remain a reliable partner,” Blunt said. “We are working to expand Missourians’ access to care and must have the flexibility to ensure we can provide our children the health coverage they need.”
The state and federally funded State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is designed to provide aide to uninsured working families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. In Missouri, the program provides coverage for more than 66,000 children. Missouri is one of only eight states that provides coverage for children up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level through SCHIP program. The governor’s proposed changes through MO HealthNet would expand the program to an estimated additional 6,349 children.
Though Missouri anticipates available SCHIP funding to be sufficient through the end of this federal fiscal year, several states expect funding to fall short. Blunt joined Republican and Democrat governors to call on Congress to provide funds to support the program in all states through the end of the year, to reauthorize and fund the program over the next five years and for states to have the flexibility to manage the program as they see fit.
Blunt joined Governors Sonny Perdue (R-GA), Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Jon Corzine (D-NJ) , Phil Bredesen (D-TN), John Baldacci (D-ME), Haley Barbour (R-MS), Martin O’Malley (D-MD) to discuss SCHIP at a Washington, D.C. news conference yesterday during a National Governor’s Association meeting. Governors also discussed SCHIP in more detail with members of the President's cabinet today.
###