,Can a Child Health Insurance Tax Credit Serve as an Effective Substitute for SCHIP Expansion?

Can a Child Health Insurance Tax Credit Serve as an Effective Substitute for SCHIP Expansion?


 

Publication Date: October 2007

Publisher: Tax Policy Center

Author(s): Linda J. Blumberg; Genevieve M. Kenney

Research Area: Health

Keywords: Tax Policy; Taxes and Social Programs; Health and Health Care; State Children's Health Insurance Program

Type: Report

Abstract:

As the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has come up for reauthorization, the coverage of children with incomes above 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) has become a contentious issue. Proposals have surfaced that would subsidizing the purchase of health insurance for children between 200 and 300 percent of the FPL using tax credits and the private insurance market, as an alternative to allowing states to continue enrolling these children in SCHIP coverage. This analysis compares the family financial burdens of covering children under SCHIP and under a refundable tax credit providing a $1400 per child subsidy.