Only about 35-hundred of the state’s 127-thousand uninsured children have enrolled in Coverkids, the state’s new health insurance program. So Bredesen went to the Charlotte Pike Wal-Mart this morning to encourage parents to enroll their kids as part of back-to-school shopping.
CoverKids is Tennessee’s version of the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program or S-CHIP, which is undergoing reauthorization on the federal level.
Tennessee’s two republican senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, voted for the Senate version which raises the federal cigarette tax from 39-cents to 1-dollar. Bredesen hopes Corker and Alexander can convince the Tennessee House republicans to vote for the final version.
“I think it’s going to be reauthorized, and in the end, I certainly hope our entire delegation, there’s no one out there that doesn’t have lots of kids who’d benefit from S-CHIP in their districts. I hope they’ll get on board and vote for it and we’ll get it done.”
Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper joined the House republicans in voting against the reauthorization this week.
All uninsured Tennessee children are eligible for CoverKids. It’s free to families making less than 250-percent of the federal poverty level. That’s equivalent to a yearly income of 51-thousand dollars or less for a family of four.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM