CBO Estimates Show House Bill Would Provide Health Insurance to 5 Million Uninsured Children

Publication Date: August 2007

Publisher: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Edwin Park

Research Area: Health

Keywords: Economic projections; Federal budget; Health insurance; Health care costs

Type: Report

Abstract:

Congressional Budget Office estimates show that by 2012, a total of 5 million children who otherwise would be uninsured would have health care coverage under children’s health legislation that the House is considering this week. The coverage gains under this legislation are about 1 million higher than under the bipartisan bill the Senate Finance Committee approved on July 19 by a 17-4 vote. The CBO estimates show that 3.8 million of these children are uninsured children who already would be eligible for SCHIP (the State Children’s Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid under the current eligibility rules that states have set for these programs. Another 800,000 are SCHIP children who otherwise would lose their coverage in coming years and end up uninsured because states would (under the “budget baseline” that CBO employs) receive insufficient federal SCHIP funding to sustain their existing programs.