Children's health insurance plans pass the 50-mark.

Navigation: Main page

Author: Unknown

AMERICAN SAMOA has become the latest U.S. territory to gain approval for its plan to provide health insurance benefits to thousands of currently uninsured children.

As of April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had approved 52 state and territory plans to provide coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Program. The plans are expected to cover more than 2.5 million currently uninsured children within the next three years.

"We're pulling together to help hard-working, low-income parents give their kids the same kind of high-quality health care others take for granted," said Claude Earl Fox, MD, MPH, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, which works with the Health Care Financing Administration to implement CHIP.

American Samoa will use up to $128,000 in CHIP allocations to expand its Medicaid program to children under age 19 who are currently receiving services through a territory-funded program. Under current law, CHIP funds for U.S. territories are calculated differently than for the states, resulting in lower subsidies.

To provide more funding for children's health care in U.S. territories, President Clinton's fiscal year 2000 budget request asks Congress for an additional $34 million in CHIP funds for Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and other territories providing care to uninsured children.

Other states and territories that recently have received approval for their CHIP plans include Guam, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Alaska, Kentucky, Mississippi, Virginia and Louisiana.