Although Congress twice passed SCHIP reauthorization bills with strong, bi-partisan support in 2007, President Bush's decision to veto these bills ultimately led Congress to simply extend the existing SCHIP program with new funding through March 2009. A new issue brief, SCHIP Funding in the Year Ahead: Implications of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act, published by Georgetown University’s Institute for Health Policy Center for Children and Families, provides details on the financing provisions of the extension and state-specific data on the amount of federal SCHIP funding available in fiscal year 2008. It concludes that most states have adequate federal resources with which to pursue planned initiatives to cover more uninsured children.
