Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Health

House Health Bill Would Expand, Strengthen Coverage for Children and Families

"The [House] health reform bill...would provide affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage to 36 million Americans who otherwise would be uninsured.... [This includes] millions of children and parents.

"Since the large majority of uninsured parents and children have low or moderate incomes, the House bill would be particularly beneficial for this group." Read more

House Health Bill’s High-Income Surcharge Is Sound and Well Targeted

“A 5.4 percent surcharge on couples with incomes over $1 million, a key financing feature of the House health reform bill, is sound and well targeted. It would affect just a fraction of 1 percent of taxpayers, a group whose incomes have soared and tax burdens have fallen in recent years….

“The surcharge…would have no impact at all on more than 98 percent of small business [and] would benefit small businesses by enhancing their ability to offer affordable health insurance to their employees.” Read more

Related analyses of House bill:

Topics

Basics

Medicaid is a federal-state public insurance program that provides health coverage to more than 60 million low-income Americans, including children, parents, seniors, and people with disabilities. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) gives states matching federal funds to provide health coverage to roughly 4 million children in families whose income is modestly above Medicaid limits, typically up to 200 percent of the poverty line, about $42,000 for a family of four. Medicare is a federal program that provides health coverage to more than 40 million Americans, primarily individuals age 65 and older but also including several million younger adults with permanent disabilities.

Policy Basics:
- Introduction to Medicaid

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The Center works to ensure that federal and state health insurance programs provide coverage that meets the health care needs of low-income children and families, as well as seniors and people with disabilities. The Center also works to remove barriers preventing eligible families from gaining access to health coverage.