One ongoing issue in Congress will be whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has the authority to prevent states from expanding Medicaid coverage.
President George W. Bush twice vetoed measures that would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). According to the Kaiser Network, the administration has restricted states like Ohio, Louisiana, and Oklahoma from expanding SCHIP unless they demonstrate that they’ve enrolled at least 95 percent of children in the state below 200 percent of the poverty level. In other words, CMS wants to make sure children in low-income households are adequately covered before offering coverage to children in higher-income households.
Democrats in both houses of Congress say that CMS does not have the authority to prevent states from expanding Medicaid coverage to more children. Download the four-page press release and legislative letter (PDF) that lays out the arguments.
