Challenges to Medicaid Rules
As discussed in a previous post "New Federal Guidelines Would Increase Numbers of Uninsured Children", some states have responded to the health insurance crisis by increasing eligibility for SCHIP (the State Children's Health Insurance Plan) and allowing more families above the poverty line to benefit from it.
The federal government has reacted to this by announcing that it will impose new rules on these states--including, most controversially, a one-year waiting period without insurance before a child can be eligible for SCHIP.
However, states are challenging the federal government's impositions. For instance, Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington state, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York have all protested the federal government's actions and have questioned the legality of the new federal rules. The outcome of this battle will be interesting not only for its consequences for public health but also for its potential re-shaping of the boundaries between state and federal power.
