Political Quotes

“today I am introducing with my colleague Senator Chafee the CHIP Data and Evaluation Improvement Act of 1999. This legislation would ensure comparable data and an adequate evaluation of children's health coverage under the new Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid. In 1997, CHIP was established to provide health coverage for low-income uninsured children. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 provided $48 billion over ten years, mostly in the form of a block grant, for states to develop children's health insurance programs. New York and other states pioneered expanded children's health programs well before the enactment of CHIP. With new federal CHIP funding, more states are beginning to develop their own programs. To date, 48 states have CHIP plans that have been approved by the Health Care Financing Administration, with most just beginning to implement their programs. We await reports on the effectiveness of their efforts to cover the nation's uninsured children. THE NEED FOR DATA Implementing their programs is the first challenge before the states. For the Federal government, the first challenge clearly will be to track the experience of children and of the CHIP programs.”