Strickland: Ohio will sue if SCHIP expansion not approved

Governor Strickland stated earlier this week that if the federal government doesn't go along with Ohio's plan to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program to cover another 20,000 uninsured children, "We will bring legal action to try to force coverage for our children." (Source: "Suing the feds is back-up plan for SCHIP," Columbus Dispatch Daily Briefing, Dec. 3, 2007.) According to Strickland, a "prestigious law firm" has offered to handle the case at no cost to the state if Attorney General Marc Dann doesn't do it. Under the SCHIP expansion, which was approved by the Ohio General Assembly, eligibility in the state's SCHIP program would increase from 200% of the federal poverty level to 300%, or $51,510 a year for a family of three.