SCHIP will not be broadened as much as many lawmakers wanted, but President Bush has made the budget of $ 20 billion over the next five years for the program.
Opposing legislators and the president were strongly against any expansion of SCHIP coverage, although more than 20 states have been knocking on the door of the federal government to allow it.
to make it harder for states to expand coverage, the Bush administration prescription rules created last year on August 17.
rules say that no state can expand SCHIP unless it has proven 95 percent of children below 0 percent of the federal poverty level were covered. They also said that there may be no decrease in the number of people enrolled in private coverage.
States were against the rules because no one had previously been able to meet these two requirements.
Last week, the Office of the Government Accountability (GAO) has challenged the rules of the Bush administration.
GAO lawyers said those rules violate federal law, reported New York Times . The rules are very different from the original SCHIP legislation, supports the GAO, and must be reviewed and approved by Congress.
Already, several states have sued the White House on rules. The GAO's legal opinion will strengthen their case. But that's not stopping the Bush administration from the application of rules continues.
"GAO's opinion does not change our conclusion that the August 17 letter is still in force," said a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
this does not how some states see it.
"the opinion of the Office of the Government of responsibility justifies our position that the federal government has no authority to issue the directive on August 17," said Deborah S. Bachrach, deputy commissioner for the State health Department of New York.
everything is still in the air, we'll keep you posted.
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