SCHIP Extension bill

The SCHIP Extension bill (H.R.3963) was a bill in the 110th Congress "to amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program, and for other purposes.” (Official title)

Current status
Veto Override Failed (House)

Bill summary

 * Allows states to provide pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women if the minimum eligibility level is at least 185 percent of the poverty level or at least 200 percent of the poverty level for children under 19 years of age (Sec. 111).


 * Prohibits the approval, extension, or renewal of CHIP waivers to parents of targeted low-income children and nonpregnant childless adults (Sec. 112).


 * Prohibits payments for providing child heath assistance for children whose family income would exceed 300 percent of the poverty line unless a waiver is granted by the state (Sec. 114).


 * Appropriates $100.00 million through 2012 for outreach and enrollment grant programs designed to increase the enrollment and participation of eligible children in CHIP (Sec. 201).


 * Requires states to submit the names and social security numbers of children eligible for CHIP and to make a "reasonable effort" to address any inconsistencies in social security numbers and the declaration of citizenship or nationality while continuing to provide medical assistance until the problem is resolved, and allows state programs to enter an agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security to provide for the electronic submission of documents (Sec. 211).


 * Appropriates $25.00 million from the U.S. Treasury Department for programs designed to reduce child obesity (Sec. 401).


 * Restates that Federal payments for Medicaid or CHIP cannot be made to people who are not legal residents (Sec. 605).


 * Increases the tax on cigars from $1.828 per thousand to $50.00 per thousand for cigars weighing less than 3 pounds per thousand, and increases the tax from 20.719 percent of the retail price to 52.988 percent of the retail price for cigars weighing more than three pounds per thousand, with a cap of $3.00 per cigar (Sec. 701 [a]).


 * Increases the tax from $19.50 per thousand to $50.00 per thousand for cigarettes weighing less than 3 pounds per thousand, and increases the tax from $40.95 per thousand to $105.00 per thousand for cigarettes weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand (Sec. 701 [b]).


 * Increases the taxes on cigarette paper from $0.0122 to $0.0313 per fifty papers and on cigarette tubes from $0.0244 to $0.0626 per fifty tubes (Sec. 701 [c-d]).


 * Increases the taxes on snuff from $0.585 to $1.50 per pound and on chewing tobacco from $0.195 to $0.50 per pound (Sec. 701 [e]).


 * Increases the taxes on pipe tobacco from $1.0969 to $2.8126 per pound and on roll-your-own-tobacco from $1.0969 to $8.8889 per pound (Sec. 701 [f-g]).

Key votes

 * Vote to pass a bill that reauthorizes and expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2012.



Supporters

 * American Nurses Association
 * Catholic Health Association of the United States
 * League of United Latin American Citizens
 * School Social Work Association of America

Opponents

 * Heritage Foundation
 * R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Articles and resources

 * The New York Times' article Veto Stands on Measure to Expand Health Plan 24 Jan 2008.


 * The Wall Street Journal's article Another Veto on Children’s Health Insurance 13 Dec 2007.