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National legislative activities

Expanding coverage for the uninsured and increasing access to care

The AMA is committed to leading the response of America's physicians to solve the health coverage crisis for all patients and will work to build political pressure for action on both coverage and access to care.

We will advocate for and create awareness about our proposal to expand medical coverage for the uninsured. We will lead the charge to move the system toward affordable coverage that is individually owned and chosen by each patient or family, with financial assistance for those with low incomes.

State Children's Health Insurance Program

Congress created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 as a state-federal partnership to bridge the safety net gap for low-income children who are ineligible for Medicaid but still lack private health insurance. SCHIP was authorized for ten years; the program must be reauthorized by Congress by November 15, 2007, to allow for continued federal funding. The SCHIP reauthorization is likely to be the main health bill in this session of Congress.

Covering the uninsured is a top priority for the AMA, and covering America’s uninsured children is the first step. The AMA strongly supports SCHIP reauthorization this year. The AMA’s top priority for SCHIP reauthorization is to ensure that funding is adequate to support enrollment of and provision of necessary services to all children who are eligible for the program. We also support funding to allow states to maximize outreach activities and enrollment, and to simplify and streamline state enrollment procedures.

Legislative activities

• Facts and myths (PDF, 49KB) about the bill.
• See how your U.S. representative voted on this issue.
• See how your U.S. Senator voted on this issue.

AMA-AARP letter to Congress supporting an override of the veto of SCHIP, October 10, 2007 (PDF, 60KB)

Letter to Senator Harry Reid supporting the SCHIP Reauthorization Act, September 26, 2007 (PDF, 37KB)

Letter to Representative John Boehner supporting the SCHIP Reauthorization Act, September 25, 2007 (PDF, 37KB)

Letter to Representative John Dingell supporting the CHAMP Act, July 26, 2007 (PDF, 38KB)

Letter to Representative Jim McCrery supporting the CHAMP Act, July 26, 2007 (PDF, 38KB)

Letter to Representative Charles Rangel supporting the CHAMP Act, July 26, 2007 (PDF, 38KB)

Letter to Representative Joe Barton supporting the CHAMP Act, July 26, 2007 (PDF, 37KB)

Letter to Senator Jay Rockefeller supporting the Senate Finance Committee SCHIP bill, July 17, 2007 (PDF, 39KB)

Letter to Senator Charles Grassley supporting the Senate Finance Committee SCHIP bill, July 17, 2007 (PDF, 39KB)

Letter to Senator Orrin Hatch supporting the Senate Finance Committee SCHIP bill, July 17, 2007 (PDF, 39KB)

Letter to Senator Max Baucus supporting the Senate Finance Committee SCHIP bill, July 17, 2007 (PDF, 39KB)

Letter to Senator Schumer regarding importance of reauthorizing SCHIP and fixing the Medicare physician payment system, June 18, 2007 (PDF, 46KB)

Sign-on letter to Reps. Dingell, Barton, Rangel, and McCrery supporting increase in the tobacco tax to pay for SCHIP reauthorization, May 22, 2007 (PDF, 18KB)

Sign-on letter to Senators Baucus and Grassley supporting increase in the tobacco tax to pay for SCHIP reauthorization, May 22, 2007 (PDF, 18KB)

AMA letter to Senator Gordon Smith thanking him for his efforts to pay for SCHIP reauthorization through an increase in the tobacco tax, May 8, 2007 (PDF, 69KB)

Families USA sign-on letter supporting the budget conference report containing the Senate’s provision regarding the tobacco tax, April 27, 2007 (PDF, 17KB)

Comparison of House and Senate State Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorizing legislation (PDF, 39KB)

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