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Covering Uninsured Children: Continue Funding for the SCHIP Expansion
Background
An estimated 147,000 children in South Carolina are without health insurance. Most have working parents in low-income jobs - jobs that do not offer health insurance benefits or salaries high enough to afford private coverage. Children without health insurance are much less likely to receive needed immunizations, preventive services, and screenings. And, like their adult counterparts, their sick care is provided in expensive settings - usually in the emergency room.
In recognition of this problem, the South Carolina General Assembly appropriated funds in 2007 to expand the state's SCHIP (state children's health insurance program) to 200% of the federal poverty level. SC DHHS, the agency managing the program, is projecting that initial enrollment in the program will begin in the spring of 2008. An estimated 80,000 children will be eligible for health insurance through this program. In January 2008, however, the Governor's office recommended that the SCHIP funding for 2008-2009 be deleted, citing the need to reduce government spending. The South Carolina Children's Hospital Collaborative opposes this recommendation and urges the South Carolina General Assembly to continue funding the SCHIP expansion.
Contact Your Legislator
Sample SCHIP letter (DOC)
To identify your South Carolina legislators, use the following link:
http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe
To find the contact information for a Representative, use the following link: (Click on name to see e-mail address.)
http://www.scstatehouse.net/html-pages/housemembers.html
To find the contact information for a Senator, use the following link: (Click on name to see e-mail address.}
http://www.scstatehouse.net/html-pages/senatemembers.html
Links
SC DHHS, SC Department of Health and Human Services website
Kaiser Family Foundation: SCHIP Resources
Children's Medicaid Eligibility: States Comparison (Kaiser)
Map of SCHIP Standalone Programs By Eligibility Level (Kaiser)
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