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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, Sept. 15, 1998 Contact: HCFA Press Office (202) 690-6145
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced approval of West Virginia's plan to expand health coverage for thousands of uninsured children through the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
West Virginia could receive as much as $23 million in new funds under the federal CHIP program -- the historic, bipartisan legislation signed last year by President Clinton. The CHIP law allocates $24 billion over the next five years to help states expand health insurance to children whose families earn too much for traditional Medicaid, yet not enough to afford private health insurance. With this approval, West Virginia secures its allotment of CHIP funds while planning for amendments to expand its children's health insurance plan. West Virginia, like all states with CHIP plans - will receive federal matching funds only for actual expenditures on insuring children.
West Virginia is the 38th CHIP plan to be approved in the 12 months since CHIP funds have been available. Together, these 37 states and Puerto Rico anticipate providing health insurance coverage for more than two million currently uninsured children within the next three years.
"It is gratifying to see so many states taking advantage of this wonderful new program to help working parents obtain health insurance for their children," Secretary Shalala said. "The Clinton Administration and the states are working together to give children the health care they need to live longer, healthier lives. That's good for all of us."
CHIP gives states three options for devising a plan to cover uninsured children: designing a new children's health insurance program; expanding current Medicaid programs; or a combination of both strategies. HHS must approve each state's plan before CHIP funds become available.
In its first phase, West Virginia will use its federal allotment to expand Medicaid eligibility to children between the ages of one and five in families with incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level (the federal poverty level for a family of four is $16,450). The state currently has an income cutoff for that group of 133 percent of poverty. The newly covered children will receive the regular Medicaid benefit package at no cost to their families.
"The success of the CHIP program has shown an inspiring amount of cooperation between the federal government and the states," said Nancy-Ann DeParle, administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which administers CHIP, Medicaid and Medicare. "It is through those efforts that we will realize the Administration's goal of providing health insurance to those who need it."
"We're pulling together to help hard-working, low-income parents give their kids the same kind of high quality health care others take for granted," said Claude Earl Fox, M.D., M.P.H., administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the agency working with HCFA and states to implement CHIP. "Free or low-cost health insurance is what families need to ensure their kids can grow up strong and healthy."
For the first year of the program, allotments totaling $4.3 billion are available to states whose plans are approved by HHS by Sept. 30, 1999. In addition to the 38 plans which have been approved -- Alabama, Colorado, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, California, Illinois, New York, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Texas, Idaho, Puerto Rico, Indiana, Utah, North Carolina, Minnesota, Maryland, Arkansas, Nebraska, Maine, Nevada, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Delaware, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire, and West Virginia -- these states have submitted plans: Tennessee, the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Kentucky, the Virgin Islands, North Dakota, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska and Arizona.
Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: www.hhs.gov.