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Date: Wednesday, April 1, 1998
White House Backgrounder
Contact:  HHS Press Office  (202) 690-6343

On the sixth-month anniversary of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), HHS Secretary Shalala, Domestic Policy Council Chair Bruce Reed, and National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling today announced the approval of New York's and Illinois's children's health expansions. With these new additions to CHIP, eight states have approved plans that will, when fully implemented, cover over one million children. The National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council also released a report that shows the rapid, successful implementation of the historic children's health program. Today the Administration:

• Approved New York and Illinois. The Clinton Administration announced the approval of New York's and Illinois's children's health plans. New York is expanding coverage to allow families with incomes below 185 percent of poverty to receive health insurance by paying a modest premium. Illinois's plan expands Medicaid to children in families up to 13 3 percent of poverty, and the state intends to submit a plan later this year to expand coverage up to 200 percent of poverty.

• Announced That Approved Plans Will Provide Coverage for One Million Kids. With the addition of New York and Illinois, eight states have approved CHIP plans. Taken together, these state estimate that their approved plans will provide health care coverage to over one million children.
• Released an IEC/DPC Sixth-Month Anniversary Progress Report That Documents the Rapid Implementation of the New Children's Health Insurance Program. The report released today shows the successful implementation of the Children's Health Insurance Program. On the six month anniversary of this historic program:
  • Eight states have approved plain to insure one million children. Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina have had their state plans approved. States estimate that their approved plans will cover over one million children.
  • Another fifteen states have submitted Child Health Plans for approval. Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin have submitted children's health proposals to HHS for approval.
  • Almost all other states have a process in place to develop and submit plans to expand coverage to uninsured children. Virtually every other state has working groups or task forces to design programs to expand health care coverage in ways that best meet their states' needs.
  • States are taking advantage of CHIP's flexibility to develop innovative programs that meet the unique needs of their populations. The new law allows states to design their CHIP programs to respond to the unique needs of their populations. States have taken varied and innovative approaches to implement the new law.- 12 states have proposed to expand coverage through Medicaid, 6 have proposed a block grant, and 5 have proposed combinations of the two.

• Underscored the Need for Outreach to Uninsured Children. The rapid progress of the Children's Health Insurance Program will help millions of uninsured children get the health care coverage they need. This program, however, will not reach all uninsured children. There are currently four million uninsured children that are eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid. Today, the Administration reiterated its commitment to finding ways to cover these children:

  • Enrolling children in schools and child care sites. The President's budget proposes to allow states to enroll children in the places where they spend time -- schools and child care sites.
  • Involving the private sector. The Administration is also advancing the major public/private initiatives that the President and the First Lady announced earlier this year. Representatives of providers, children's health groups, foundations, and a host of private sector entities, such as pharmacies and grocery stores, have made new commitments to help find and enroll these kids. The President and the First Lady will continue to build on these private/public sector initiatives to reach out to uninsured children.