Children’s health care expanded in new bill
Congress has passed a bill which expands children’s health insurance, which allows an additional 8,000 kids to enjoy coverage from health insurance. These are children who belong to families who are above Medicaid requirements but cannot afford to get a private insurance policy.
The House on Monday approved legislation to expand the ARKids First children’s health insurance program. The Senate passed a bill that would tax hospitals and then use the proceeds to bring in more federal matching dollars for Medicaid, as well as legislation to provide schools across the state with defibrillators. House Bill 1700 by Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City, passed in the House in an 82-14 vote and now heads to the Senate. The bill would change the maximum income level to be eligible for ARKids First from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 250 percent.
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Where’s the money going to come from? It apparently comes from an expanded tax on cigarettes, which charges an additional 56 cents per pack. Some are protesting the move though, and are suggesting insurance vouchers to be handed out to children. Proponents of the bill have shot back, saying that looking to the private sector for help in providing better child health care is the more logical step. And after all, we could do better with less people lighting up and smoking.
But again, like many other laws, the general public still has to wait a bit before the benefits trickle down to their level. But this is largely good news especially to those whose families lie in the limbo of being overqualified for Medicaid but cannot afford to pay for their own private insurance.
