The All Healthy Children Act - Cost & Coverage Estimates

The All Healthy Children Act would guarantee access to comprehensive health coverage to all uninsured children in the United States. The legislation would: 1) expand and improve coverage to uninsured children and pregnant women, and 2) improve access to care by increasing payments to health care providers.

At full implementation, the All Healthy Children Act would:

• Expand coverage to more than 9 million children and pregnant women:
  • 7.5 million children who are currently uninsured
  • 1.7 million children now insured largely through the private market rather than employer-sponsored insurance
  • 187,200 pregnant women
  • 59,500 former foster children ages 19 and 20
• Simplify the enrollment process through:
  • Elimination of premiums
  • Automatic enrollment
  • Presumptive eligibility
  • 12-month continuous eligibility
  • Elimination of resource & asset tests
  • Self-declaration of income
  • Automatic renewal

Upgrade the benefit package provided to current SCHIP enrollees who presently have less than the Medicaid standard package to ensure them coverage for all medically necessary services including vision, dental, and mental health.

• Increase health care provider payments to at least 80% of the average payment rates for similar services under private health plans.
• The All Healthy Children Act would cost $70.7 billion to expand and improve coverage, and $66.6 billion to increase provider payment rates over 5 years.

Federal Budget Requirements for the All Healthy Children Act (H.R. 1688)
FY 2008—FY 2012 (Billions of dollars)

Note: This table reflects annual budgetary support requirements, taking into account the estimated pace of phase-in of implementation of the new program over its initial five years, and related level of coverage of uninsured children. The program would reach 25 percent of its ultimate enrollment level in 2008, 60 percent in 2009, 85 percent in 2010, and 100 percent in 2011 and there-after. These 5-year estimates assume that Congress provides the additional funding (not included in these estimates) necessary to maintain current SCHIP caseload.

Source: The Lewin Group.