New bill introduced to help keep kids enrolled in health insurance

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A new bill was introduced on Capitol Hill on Thursday that, if passed, would ensure that children in certain covered under certain health care programs have uninterrupted health care coverage.

“We live in a nation where no senior is uninsured, right? And together we can work towards the same goal for all of America’s kids,” said Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL), the lead sponsor of the bill, the Keep Kids Covered Act.

The bill would provide multi-year continuous eligibility for children who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP until they are six-years-old years old. It would also give eligible children another 24 months of coverage until they are 19.

“This would be a giant leap forward towards a day when no child is uninsured in the United States,” said Joan Alker of the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy.

Pediatricians at the press conference spoke out about why continuing coverage is so important for children.

“During the first five years of a child’s life, they are experiencing the most rapid development of their biological systems and brains, laying the foundation of their health for their entire lifetime,” said Abuko Estrada, Vice President of Medicaid and Child Health Policy First Focus on Children. “During these early years, Medicaid and child help children access routine and regular preventative care that allows them to be screened for emotional and behavioral delays, vision and hearing abnormalities, proper physical development, and even diseases such as cancer.”

Copyright 2024 Gray DC. All rights reserved.