Strickland and Brown: New SCHIP Guidelines Contravene Program's Objective

Governor Strickland (D) said new federal guidelines that require many children to be uninsured for a full year before accessing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) threatens Ohio's expansion of the program ("Strickland fights insurance rule: Guidelines bad for Ohio, he says" The Cincinnati Post, August 25, 2007). In a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Mike Leavitt, Strickland and Senator Sherrod Brown (D) stated the guidelines "contravene the fundamental objective" of the program. In the recently approved state budget, Ohio expanded eligibility to 300 percent of the poverty level ($61,950 for a family of four). The move could bring 20,000 additional Ohio children into SCHIP.