Texas Rep. proposes legislation to increase SCHIP enrollment

State Rep. John Davis (R-Texas) on Tuesday introduced a bill (HB 2049) that would ease SCHIP enrollment restrictions imposed by lawmakers in 2003, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The state Legislature in 2003 passed legislation that shortened the SCHIP enrollment period from one year to six months and included a stricter asset test for SCHIP enrollment, among other changes. The restrictions, which were adopted to help close a $10 billion state revenue shortfall while avoiding tax increases, have been attributed to an enrollment decline from more than 500,000 in 2003 to about 290,000 in April 2006 (Robinson/Markley, Houston Chronicle, 2/28). Davis' bill would:

• Restore the one-year enrollment period;
• Eliminate a 90-day enrollment waiting period;
• Require schools to provide parents with SCHIP information;
• Increase the monetary value of automobiles that families can own to qualify under the asset test; and
• Allow families to deduct income used to pay for child care before eligibility is decided (MacLaggan, Austin American-Statesman, 2/28).

Davis said it is not clear how many additional children would qualify for SCHIP if the legislation is approved, but he said he would seek $82 million in the fiscal year 2008 state budget to help cover costs. Krista Moody, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), said the governor opposes a longer enrollment period (Houston Chronicle, 2/28).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.