Thursday, June 15, 2006
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Expands Children’s Access to Healthcare
JEFFERSON CITY –Under Gov. Matt Blunt’s direction the Department of Social Services today filed an emergency regulation to clarify the affordability factor for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), expanding eligibility to nearly 5,500 additional Missouri children.
“The necessary changes I proposed to our state’s social welfare programs last year exempted children from losing any coverage. The changes that actually passed affected the affordability test for families and created inequity within the system,” Blunt said. “The department’s emergency regulation will expand access to healthcare for children, lower the eligibility threshold for many families and eliminate existing inequities.”
SCHIP provides health coverage for children whose families cannot access affordable health insurance, earn too much to qualify for regular Medicaid benefits and whose incomes do not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level, $49,800 for a family of three.
SCHIP was established in 1998. Since then, inability to access affordable insurance has been a key factor to qualify for the program. “Affordable” is defined in state law and until last year applied only to families with incomes greater than 225 percent of poverty. According to statute, the affordable amount is based on the cost for children’s coverage through the state employee health plan, which is now about $375 per month. A family that can access health insurance for their child for under $375 per month would not qualify for the program. For SCHIP families at 300 percent of poverty, $375 is about 9 percent of the family's monthly income.
Beginning last July a new state law applied the affordable insurance factor to families with lower incomes. At lower income levels, the existing test could call on families to spend more than 21 percent of their monthly income, creating inequity within the program.
In response to the governor’s call to resolve this inequity, the department filed the emergency regulation making the affordability factor the same percent of income for all income groups. For fiscal year 2007 that amount will be nine percent of a family’s net monthly income. The result is that an estimated 5,418 children will be newly eligible for the program. Families that have lost or been denied coverage because they had access to affordable insurance under the current definition will be notified by mail of the changes.
The estimated cost to cover those who could return to the rolls is $1.8 million in general revenue. The new regulation will be effective July 1, 2006.
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