House and Senate Health Leaders Release Draft Legislation to Extend Children’s Health Insurance Program

House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) today released a discussion draft of legislation to extend the critically important State Children’sHealth Insurance Program (SCHIP). This is the first step in renewing the program before funding expires in at the end of September.

“Pennsylvania was a leader in developing a Children’s Health Insurance Program, and many children would lose good coverage if Congress doesn’t work together to extend the program nationwide,” said Pitts. “Historically, this has been a bipartisan initiative and we are releasing a draft early in the year so that we can work together to renew SCHIP as soon as possible.”

More than 157,000 individuals are enrolled in the Pennsylvania program. Last year, committee leaders worked together to solicit feedback from the nation’s governors on extending the program. Then Governor Tom Corbett was one of many governors who wrote back in support of the program. His letter to the committee is available

HEREhttp://pitts.house.gov/sites/pitts.house.gov/files/documents/CorbettCHIPLetter.pdf.

Read the complete discussion draft online HEREhttp://energycommerce.house.gov/sites/republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/files/114/Analysis/SCHIPDiscussionDraft.pdf.

Read a one-page summary of the draft online HEREhttp://energycommerce.house.gov/fact-sheet/extending-funding-state-children%E2%80%99s-health-insurance-program.

Read a detailed summary of the draft online HEREhttp://energycommerce.house.gov/fact-sheet/extending-funding-state-children%E2%80%99s-health-insurance-program.

Read this original document at: http://pitts.house.gov/press-release/house-and-senate-health-leaders-release-draft-legislation-extend-children%E2%80%99s-health

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