Improving the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) so that it would better benefit Southern states has long been a SGA legislative priority.  On February 4, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, bringing to a close the protracted debate over the reauthorization and expansion of S-CHIP.  SGA was actively involved in advocating for Southern states throughout the reauthorization process.

While SGA Governors did not agree on all aspects of what needed to be changed to improve the program, they had many common goals. In 2007, SGA issued a set of key principles that all Southern Governors supported as part of reauthorization, and these principles guided our advocacy efforts.  Although Southern Governors may have differing views on the final bill in its entirety, we are pleased to say that SGA achieved most of the goals set out in our initial consensus-based principles.

The following are some of our most critical victories:

Guaranteeing Adequate Funding and Improving the S-CHIP Distribution Formula

Ensuring the Accuracy of Data

Making Children a Priority

Recognizing the Anticipated Growth in Medicaid

Streamlining Premium Assistance Rules