Thank Senator Kerry for His Support of the Removal of the 5-year Bar for Immigrant Children and Pregnant Women and Ask Him to Fight Against Potential Anti-Immigrant Amendment in SCHIP Reauthorization
1/14/2009 3:56 pm- As part of a group of immigrant health care advocates on the federal level, MIRA is pushing for the inclusion of the Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act (ICHIA) in the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). ICHIA would remove the 5-year bar for legally present immigrant children and pregnant women to be covered by SCHIP. The House of Representatives in the newly sworn-in 111th Congress passed the SCHIP reauthorization (H.R. 2) on January 14th with ICHIA attached by a vote of 289-139, but more work needs to be done in the Senate. The Senate Finance Committee is currently working on its draft of the bill and it appears unlikely that ICHIA will be included, although there is support in the committee to include ICHIA as an amendment. While Senator Kerry (who sits on the committee) has signaled his support for inclusion of ICHIA in the SCHIP reauthorization bill, there is concern that other members of the committee will attempt to include an amendment limiting immigrant access to these benefits.
Please call Senator Kerry to thank him for his support for ICHIA and urge him to oppose any attempts by his colleagues in the Finance Committee to attach anti-immigrant amendments to the bill. Please see attached letter to Senator Kerry.
MA Senator Kerry: 202-224-2742 (DC Office) or 617-565-8519 (Boston Office)
Letter-to-Sen-Kerry-1-14-09.pdf