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"This change will allow New York to extend its Medicaid program to reach tens of thousands more children," Secretary Thompson said. "This administration is committed to giving states the flexibility they need to extend health coverage to those most in need."

With today's approval, New York will extend eligibility for Medicaid to children ages 6 to 19 with family income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Eligibility had been limited to families whose income does not exceed 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $17,650 for a family of four. HHS also approved the state's request to enroll these new beneficiaries in managed health care plans.

In May, HHS approved a Medicaid waiver for New York that will provide health insurance coverage to an additional 619,000 low-income, underinsured state residents. In July, HHS approved a separate waiver request that allowed the state to extend eligibility for its State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to reach an estimated 33,400 children.

Since Jan. 22, HHS has approved Medicaid and SCHIP state plan amendments and waivers that collectively have made more than 800,000 additional people eligible for health care coverage across the country.

On Aug. 4, Secretary Thompson and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new initiative to make it faster and easier for states to expand access to health care coverage for low-income individuals through Medicaid and the SCHIP demonstrations. More information is available at www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010804.html. CMS, formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration, is the HHS agency that administers the Medicaid program.

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