Arizona Legislature Approves Premium Increases To Continue Coverage For Parents Of SCHIP Beneficiaries

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 27 Jun 2006 - 23:00 PDT

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The Arizona Legislature recently approved a measure that would continue funding for KidsCare Parents -- the state's insurance program for parents of children with SCHIP coverage -- but would require participants to pay higher monthly premiums, the Arizona Daily Star reports. KidsCare and KidsCare Parents are available to families with annual incomes between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level. The funding decision reverses a state Senate and House Appropriations Committee recommendation that KidsCare Parents be discontinued at the end of this month. Under the new plan, monthly premiums for KidsCare Parents would increase from $45 to $75 for a family of four with an annual income of up to $30,000. Premiums would increase from $70 to $117 for a family of four with an annual income of up to $35,000 and from $85 to $167 for a family of four with an annual income of up to $40,000. Rainey Daye Holloway, a spokesperson for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, which administers the KidsCare programs, said the changes will take place after July 1, although an exact date has not been set. Barrett Marson, an aide to state House Speaker Jim Weiers (R) said the new premiums are about what state employees pay for their health plan. The beneficiaries in KidsCare Parents "do work and do earn money, and to pay what the average state employee has to pay for health insurance is not too much to ask," Marson said, adding that KidsCare Parents is "still a good deal for families." Dana Naimark, special projects director at the advocacy group Children's Action Alliance, said, "There is no doubt that these premium increases will cause some people to become uninsured" (Erikson, Arizona Daily Star, 6/22).

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