State Children's Health Insurance Program
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The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a national program in the United States designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. The program was created to address the growing problem of children in the United States without health insurance. At its creation in 1997, SCHIP was the largest expansion of health insurance coverage for children in the United States since Medicaid began in the 1960s.
Like Medicaid, SCHIP is run by the individual states according to requirements set by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration) in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. States may design their SCHIP program as a independent program that is separate from Medicaid, use SCHIP funds to bring more children into their existing Medicaid program, or combine these approaches.
For example, in the state of Ohio SCHIP is part of the Medicaid program. Children from birth through age 18 who live in families with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for SCHIP, although children in families in the 151 to 200% poverty range can only be in the program if they lack other health insurance coverage. Children in families with incomes below 150% of poverty are eligible for SCHIP regardless of other factors. In 2004, the maximum annual income needed for a family of four to fall within 100% of the federal poverty guidelines was $18,850, while 200% of the poverty guidelines was $37,700.
Other states have similar SCHIP guidelines, with some states being more generous or restrictive in the number of children they allow into the program. A few states also call the SCHIP program by the term Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
See also:
External links
- Federal government's site portal for SCHIP information (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/schip/)
- Kaiser Foundation Resources on SCHIP (http://www.kff.org/medicaid/index.cfm) Wide range of background information, fact sheets, and studies on SCHIP and other U.S. health programs.
References
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "SCHIP Summary," http://www.cms.hhs.gov/schip/about-SCHIP.asp.
- Health Policy Institute of Ohio, "Ohio Medicaid Basics" http://www.healthpolicyohio.org/publications/medicaidbasics.html.