Federal aid to bail out part of state children’s health plan
Washington is getting a $7.5 million “bonus” for expanding health care for children in low-income families. The extra federal money could be enough to restore about two-thirds of the money Gov. Chris Gregoire’s 2010 budget proposal trims, activists said.
Early indications are that this could spare the loss of coverage for two-thirds, or perhaps 11,000, of the 16,000 kids who lose coverage under the governor’s plan. The Children’s Alliance Advocacy Group said:
Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius formally announced the $72 million in awards today to nine states that have been most successful expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, which is part of the state’s Apple Health for Kids programs that cover some 664,000 minors in the state.