State Children's Health Insurance Program

Legislation to expand and reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is on the Congressional agenda for next week. Reauthorization of SCHIP must be addressed early in the 111th Congress as the SCHIP extension passed by Congress in 2007 expires on March 31, 2009. Prevent Blindness America joined with other vision advocacy organizations to send letters to House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership and members and Senate Finance Committee leadership and members requesting that eye and vision care be fully recognized and included in the SCHIP reauthorization legislation that the Committees will consider in 2009. Because states across the country are facing serious budget shortfalls and pressures, they are considering reductions to their Medicaid and SCHIP programs. Prevent Blindness America and the vision community are concerned that eye and vision care is not an assured benefit under SCHIP and will fall victim to any cuts made in the program. It is our goal to make eye and vision care a permanent provision in SCHIP.