New York State Executive Chamber | Governor Eliot Spitzer

Press Releases | Speeches | Executive Orders | Proclamations

STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER RESPONDING TO CALL FOR LIMITS ON FEDERAL SCHIP PROGRAM

Senators Charles Grassley and Pat Roberts recently have written public letters to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to deny New York’s application to expand Child Health Plus – an expansion that would make certain that every uninsured child in New York has access to affordable health insurance coverage. Granting this expansion is essential to the health and well-being of New York’s children.

My proposed expansion of the state’s Child Health Plus insurance program, which received bipartisan support in the New York State Legislature this year, was developed to make sure that every uninsured child in New York State has access to affordable health insurance coverage.

The senators' request, as expressed in their letter, will prevent states from offering State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) benefits to any family that exceeds the federal poverty level (FPL) by 200 percent. Yet, contrary to the senators’ objections, the law permits exactly that.

Pursuant to the law, CMS has already approved New York’s expansion to 250 percent, and has consistently approved the expansion by other states to levels higher than 200 percent. Thus, the senators seem to be advocating for a coverage roll-back that would force states to drop children from health insurance coverage.

Despite the senators’ letter and President Bush’s expressed desire to limit coverage to children and families at 200 percent of FPL or below, I will continue to negotiate in good faith with CMS to secure this important coverage for New York’s children.

In our negotiations, CMS has asked us to impose a number of unprecedented conditions in order to approve our expansion. These include requiring children to be uninsured for a full year before being able to access SCHIP, and requiring families to pay a much higher share of the coverage cost – conditions that have never been set for expansions above 200 percent.

I hope that New York and CMS can arrive at a compromise on reasonable conditions that allow uninsured children in New York to have access to affordable health insurance coverage, which is critical to a patient-first system of care that will ultimately lower the cost and improve the quality of our health care system.

I will continue to work with my fellow governors and New York’s congressional delegation, who understand the importance of insuring our children.