UCP AffNet Entrance
Health & Wellness
Healthcare
UCP Endorses Grassley/Kennedy Bill to Expand Medicaid "Buy Ins" by Families of Children with Disabilities
Contact: Michelle Cook Sullivan or Brian Rasmussen
Phone: 202-776-0406
Washington, DC, March 22, 2000 - UCP has endorsed a new bill by Sens. Kennedy (MA) and Grassley (IA) to allow moderate-income families with a child having a disability to "buy in" to Medicaid coverage for that child.
This bill would help families that have no (or limited) private insurance but are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid under regular rules. Though some of these families can now buy into State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIPs), the SCHIPs often cover fewer services than Medicaid. More than 100 other organizations also have endorsed the bill.
This legislation is scheduled to be introduced in the Senate on Wednesday, March 22, 2000. A press conference will be held at 1:30 P.M.
Senate hearings on the bill have not yet been scheduled, but Congressional staff expect a similar House bill to be introduced shortly.
UCP, founded in 1949, is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the country with 144 affiliates nationwide. UCP provides programs and services to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities and their families. UCP uses its funds efficiently, with 85 cents of every dollar spent directly on programs and services.