Perry gives ceremonial signature to CHIP bill

AUSTIN - A law that will allow more working families to enroll in the Children’s Health Insurance Program received a ceremonial signature from Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday.

Perry officially signed House Bill 109 on June 15 and it became effective immediately. The ceremony Tuesday in his public reception room at the Capitol was a photo opportunity for Perry and about a dozen lawmakers who worked on the bill.

The bill relaxes some eligibility requirements for the program so that families can have more assets and still qualify. They will have to submit paperwork every year rather than every six months.

The changes are expected to add about 100,000 people to the program. There were 321,000 children in the program in January, but more than 700,000 other children were eligible but not enrolled, according to a bill analysis by the Legislature.

“This program is extremely important for the working poor,” said Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, D-Palmview.

Flores, Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, and Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, were among the lawmakers at the signing. Each said his district is chock-full of children whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance.

The bill encountered opposition from some fiscal conservatives who objected to expansion of a government-subsidized health program. Participants in CHIP pay a monthly fee, but the bulk of the cost is shouldered by the state and federal governments.

“In January, we didn’t think we would get here and get it passed,” Guillen said. “This is so rewarding.”

Perry did not take questions after the ceremonial signing.

Pena called the bill the most important of the session, but said he still wants the Legislature to expand the program further, at least to the 500,000 or so children who were covered at the program’s peak in 2003. That year, lawmakers tightened requirements and rolls were reduced.

“It’s not over,” Pena said. “We didn’t fully get it back to the levels from where we came.”

The signing comes as Congress considers whether to refund the federal program that funds state CHIP programs. President Bush threatened to veto attempts by some in Congress to expand CHIP to include more middle-income families, saying it would be a step toward government-run health care.

The federal government offers matching funds for states to run CHIP programs.