New Study: Children Without Health Insurance in Alaska
20 May 2007Highlights of the new study by FamiliesUSA on Alaskan children without health insurance…
Reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is likely to be the most important health care issue addressed on Capitol Hill this year. The highly successful program, which started in 1997, provides health coverage to millions of low-income children with family incomes that are too high to qualify for Medicaid but not high enough to purchase other forms of health insurance. The program’s original 10-year authorization period expires on September 30, 2007. Congress must therefore pass reauthorizing legislation within the next several months.
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Alaska received $11.5 million in federal support for the SCHIP portion of Denali KidCare in 2007. Based on data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the current SCHIP distribution formula, Families USA estimated how much federal funding Alaska will receive if SCHIP is reauthorized with $50 billion in new federal funding over the next five years. Alaska could receive approximately $230.7 million in added federal support for Denali KidCare during the next five years (or $46.1 million in added federal support per year, on average).7 This is three times the amount the state would have gotten if SCHIP were funded at the 2007 level.
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KEY FINDINGS
In Alaska, there are 21,197 uninsured children, and approximately two-thirds of them are currently eligible for either Denali KidCare or Medicaid.
The SCHIP reauthorization process presents an opportunity to substantially increase the federal funding that goes to Alaska.
With $50 billion in additional federal funding for SCHIP and Medicaid, SCHIP reauthorization could bring Alaska approximately $230.7 million in new federal funding for children’s health coverage over the next five years. This is three times the amount the state would have otherwise gotten for SCHIP.
In addition to increasing the number of children in Alaska who would gain coverage, this new federal funding will have measurable, positive effects on Alaska’s economy. Over the next five years, $230.7 million in new federal funding will create:
$82.1 million in increased business activity,
$30.5 million in increased wages, and
843 additional jobs for Alaska.
A complete copy of SCHIP Reauthorization: What’s at Stake for Alaska? is available for your review.
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