September 29, 2009: This week, Alabama will become the 13th state to offer SCHIP coverage to children in families with incomes as high as 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
Starting October 1, income eligibility for All Kids, the state's SCHIP program, will expand from the current cap of 200% FPL to a new maximum of 300% FPL. This will be the first eligibility expansion since All Kids began in 1997.
Approximately 69,000 children are currently enrolled in All Kids, and an estimated 14,000 more children will be eligible under the expansion. The Alabama Department of Public Health expects to enroll 10,000 to 12,000 of these newly eligible children over the course of the next 12 months.
The All Kids expansion will cost the state about $7 million, but most of the cost is covered by federal matching dollars. The expansion was approved by the legislature on May 14, 2009, when they put the $7 million in the General Fund budget for fiscal year 2010 (which begins October 1). Alabama Governor Bob Riley vetoed the budget that contained the All Kids expansion, but the Legislature passed the budget using a veto override.
To learn more about the Alabama's All Kids program, click here.
Alabama's expansion is a strong step toward making affordable coverage available for all kids. Click here to see a list of states that of states that provide comprehensive coverage to all children in their state through expanded public program eligibility, buy-in programs, or both.
SHARE grantee Jose Escarce is studying children's insurance coverage expansions in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington. All three of these state have, like Alabama, expanded their SCHIP programs as part of efforts to improve access to insurance coverage for children. Jose is looking at the effects of these expansions, combined with voluntary buy-in provisions, on coverage rates, take-up of public coverage, crowd-out of private coverage, and out-of-pocket costs. To learn more about Jose's SHARE project, click here.