HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today approved a plan by California to raise the income level for eligibility for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to include more children.
The state will expand coverage to children up to age 19 in families whose income is up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) in four selected counties: Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. The state currently covers children in families with incomes up to 250 percent of FPL. The FPL is $18,850 for a family of four. The state hopes to enroll nearly 33,000 children in this program, known as C-CHIP, or county children's health insurance program. Today's approval also will raise the income level statewide to 300 percent of FPL for children up to age 2 whose mothers are enrolled in the Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) program. The state expects to add nearly 5,000 AIM-eligible children because of today's approval.
"With today's change, California is expanding its committment to the health care of children," said Secretary Thompson. "The SCHIP program in California and across the country continues to provide health coverage to millions of low-income children."
"As a physician, I know how important it is for young children to have access to routine, preventive medical care," said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency within HHS that oversees the SCHIP program. "This new plan will help more kids receive the kind of care that can prevent long-term health problems."