Congress Considers Funding For Children's Health Program

By Kristin Espeland

Laramie, WY – Congress is set to reauthorize a bill that helps states cover health insurance for children from low income families. The states' children's health insurance program, or S-CHIP, catches families that don't quite qualify for Medicaid but still can't afford health insurance. Wyoming's program manager, Patty Guzman, says federal funding makes up two-thirds of the program's budget, and she hopes Congress renews the program in time. About 5,600 children are currently enrolled in Wyoming's Kid Care program. And Guzman says since the state raised eligibility levels, the program burns through federal dollars faster. So she and other children's health care advocates would like to see congress increase S-CHIP funding -- not keep it level or cut other health insurance programs to pay for it. Congress could begin work on the bill as early as July.