Cover All Kids passes, but only a band aid

Press release: Gov. Rendell pleased his Cover All Kids program gets
overwhelming vote in both Chambers.

HARRISBURG -- Governor Edward G. Rendell cheered the House of
Representatives' overwhelming passage of House Bill 2699, his Cover All
Kids initiative, which will enable Pennsylvania's hard working families
to purchase affordable health insurance for their children. The
Pennsylvania Senate also unanimously supported the bill early Tuesday
morning. Currently, 133,000 of Pennsylvania's children are uninsured.

"Under my Cover All Kids program, parents will be able to afford to
insure their children families because the monthly cost will be based on
how much they can afford to pay," said Governor Rendell.

Currently, CHIP is free for children from families with incomes under
$40,000 (family of four - 200 percent of the federal poverty level) and
available at a reduced cost for children with family incomes of $47,000
(family of four - 200 percent - 235 percent of FPL).

Under Cover All Kids 100 percent of the parents who currently cannot
afford to ensure their children will get assistance from the state to
ensure that the cost of health insurance for their children is
reasonable.

Under House Bill 2699 the monthly cost for parents is based on a sliding
scale:

* $36 a month per child for a family earning 200 percent - 250 percent
of FPL (under $50,000 for a family of four)

* $50 a month per child for a family earning 250 percent -275 percent of
FPL ($50,000- $55,000 for a family of four)

* $57 a month per child for a family earning 275 percent - 300 percent
of FPL ($55,000-$60,000 for a family of four)

Families that cannot find or afford private health insurance for their
children who are earning above 300 percent of the FPL ($60,000 a month
for a family of four) can purchase the coverage at the state cost based
on certain eligibility requirements. These families must show that
coverage was denied due to a pre-existing condition, or the cost of
private coverage totals more than 10 percent of the family's annual
income, or cost of private insurance one and a half times (150 percent)
more than the state monthly per child cost for Cover All Kids.

If parents can purchase coverage for their children through their
employer but are unable to afford the full premium, the state will
provide assistance to the family to pay the premiums for private
insurance, rather than enrolling the child in CHIP - if the cost of the
private premium is less than the monthly cost to the state of the Cover
All Kids premium.

To discourage parents from dropping private coverage to take advantage
of the state subsidy, Cover All Kids a "go bare period" that requires
families show that their child has not had coverage for the last six
months, unless the child is two years of age or less. The "go bare
period" is not required for infants, or for children who have lost
coverage because a parent lost their job or they are moving from another
public insurance program.

The 2006-07 state budget includes $4.5 million for Cover All Kids, which
will be used to draw down additional federal funds This bill allows the
state to step up our outreach for existing programs for children, such
as CHIP and Medicaid (MA) to ensure every kid who qualifies is signed up
and covered.

Contact: Kate Philips, 717-783-1116