EAST ORANGE, N.J. (AP) -- Eight states will sue the Bush administration over new rules that block states from expanding their own health insurance programs for poor children.
Among states that plan to or have filed separate lawsuits are New Jersey, Maryland, Arizona, California, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York and Washington, according to New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
In August, the Bush administration issued new guidance to several states that makes it harder for them to provide coverage to children in middle-income families. For example, children had to go without insurance for a full year before they could enroll in the program.
The guidance would limit the total income of families who participate in the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The eight states filing lawsuits object to the rules, claiming the Bush administration is overstepping the federal government's authority to set income limits for program participants.
The lawsuits are another battle between Democrats and the Bush administration over the program, which covers 6.6 million children from modest-income families that aren't poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. The federal program was set to expire but has been temporarily continued until Congress and the administration can reach a funding agreement.
Democrats want to expand the program by $35 billion over five years, funded by new tobacco taxes, to allow a total of about 10 million uninsured children to participate nationwide.
Legislation recently passed by Congress would do that, but Bush has threatened to veto the measure.
"We are confident that our requirements are appropriate and will be sustained in a court of law,'' said Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Our chief goal with SCHIP is to ensure that the poorest kids and those with no health insurance are placed at the front of the line.''
The president wants to increase funding by $5 billion over 5 years. Democrats argue that wouldn't even cover the 6.6 million children currently enrolled.
New Jersey's governor said that health insurance coverage for 10,000 poor children in his state is at stake.
"We frankly don't understand the administration's position,'' Corzine said Monday, the day New Jersey filed its lawsuit in federal court in Trenton.
New Jersey's program, called FamilyCare, provides free and low-cost health care, immunizations, hospitalization, lab tests and X-rays, prescription drugs, dental and mental health services to 122,525 children and 89,050 adults. It costs the state $480 million per year, with $312 million paid for by the federal government.
New Jersey enrolls children from families whose annual income is, for a family of four, as much as $72,275. Corzine contends Bush's plan to require states enroll children from families only with the lowest incomes would leave many needing help in a state with high living costs.
"This is not living high-on-the-hog,'' Corzine said. "It is a real stretch for individuals.''
Sharonda Jennings of East Orange took her 8-month-old son Carl to the center Monday for immunizations. She's in the FamilyCare program and worries she may be forced out by the new rules, forcing her to take her soon to emergency rooms for routine care.
"If your situation is not an emergency,'' she said, "they're not going to see you right away.''
Other governors expressed similar frustrations with the new policy.
"These barriers imposed by the Bush Administration mortgage both the fiscal and health future of our nation,'' he said Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said the lawsuits were needed.
"It sends a powerful and compelling message when the U.S. Congress, states across the nation and the public are so clearly committed to ensuring that families have access to affordable health care for their children.''
More New Jersey news...
E-Mail Story
Print Story
