The IowaSenate on Monday voted 42-6 to approve a bill (HF 2539) that would expand Hawk-Icoverage to tens of thousands more children, the DesMoines Register reports. Hawk-I is the state's version of SCHIP. The legislation wouldincrease the income eligibility threshold from about $41,000 for a family offour to about $62,000.
The expansion would cost an estimated $5 million nextyear and about $25 million annually by 2011. The bill also would allow youngadult children to remain on their parents' health insurance, encourage the useof electronic health records and create a consumer advocate position in the Iowa Insurance Division. The measure does not include amandate that all children have health coverage.
Iowa Health Insurance
Details of the expansion would be determined by a commission, and the stateLegislature would consider the recommendations next year. The bill now movesback to the House, which approved similar legislation in March (Leys, DesMoines Register, 4/8).
Reprintedwith permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign upfor email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/email . The Kaiser Daily Health PolicyReport is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J.Kaiser Family Foundation. 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser FamilyFoundation. All rights reserved.