U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor will introduce a bill in the U.S. Congress this week to simplify access to health care and the doctor’s office for children and tap the over $450 million of federal funds left unspent by Florida Kidcare (under the Medicaid program and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (“SCHIP”)).
 
      Castor made the announcement at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital during a community event organized by the Florida Covering Kids and Family Initiative, a project of the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies. The event brought together local and state leaders working to help uninsured families and children. 

    Florida ranks 3rd among the states with the lowest enrollment in SCHIP with approximately 718,603 uninsured kids. Florida tops the list in SCHIP enrollment decline: enrollment fell from 331,716 in June 2004 to 203, 983 in June 2005 (-127,733 kids). This loss is attributed to new income documentation requirements and the state’s decision to replace continuous enrollment with a limited open enrollment period. In Florida, 450,000 kids have family incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level ($40,000 for a family of four) and are eligible for SCHIP, but still uninsured. Since July 2003, Hillsborough County enrollment has declined from 18,318 to 10,944 in December 2005; Pinellas from 12,178 to 7,075 in the same time period.
 
      Castor’s bill makes the best case for Florida kids by creating an “express lane” to the doctor’s office, eliminating the bureaucratic barriers that exist today, and introducing provisions to ensure Florida receives its fair share under Federal reauthorization despite the hundreds of thousands of Florida children that have fallen off the rolls, just in the last four years. The bill will:
 
1) Include “express lane” eligibility provisions so that children who meet other public program eligibility requirements (such as WIC, the school lunch program, and other means-tested programs) are automatically enrolled for benefits under the appropriate plan;
 
2) Create one enrollment form for all low-income public programs;
 
3) Give states the option to receive a 75 percent federal match if there are expenses that occur for electronic technology to make information and computer systems accommodate "Express Lane" eligibility, presumptive eligibility, continuous eligibility, or automatic renewals;
 
4) Cut red tape requirements for children born in the United States; and

5) Reverse the federal prohibition for children of low-income state employees to enroll in SCHIP. 
   
    “Our state has created such a costly bureaucracy for parents and doctors that Florida is not serving our kids like it should. My bill, combined with reform at the state level, will break down barriers between children and the all-important visit to the doctor’s office.” 

    SCHIP is scheduled for federal reauthorization this year. The U.S. House and Senate’s budgets both include $50 billion for the next five years, but the details of the reauthorization bill will determine the eligibility requirements. 
  
    Nine million children in the United States under the age of 19 are uninsured. Almost 7 million of them are eligible for, but not enrolled in, the Medicaid program or SCHIP. Two-thirds come from working families in which one or both parents are working but were not offered employer-based health insurance or were unable to afford or buy private health insurance. Uninsured children are five times less likely than insured kids to have a primary care physician, or to have visited a doctor or dentist in the past two years.