Gov. Gregoire�s statement on Bush administration�s clarification of SCHIP guidelines

For Immediate Release: August 15, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued the following statement on the Bush Administration�s decision to delay enforcement of the State Children�s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) directive:

�The Bush administration�s announcement regarding its August 17, 2007 directive on SCHIP is good news as more kids will now be able to receive health care. The administration listened to me and my fellow governors when we testified earlier in the year that there should be no restrictions on states working to provide health care in partnership with the federal government.

�Today�s decision, however, is not a true reversal of the directive. With the directive still in place, federal rules prohibit many states from offering health care to the 4 million children nationally who remain uninsured. We will not be satisfied until all states can provide health care access.

�It is because of this federal impediment to full health care coverage for kids that our lawsuit challenging the directive will continue.

�Under my leadership, Washington�s uninsured rate for children has dropped significantly, and 84,000 more children have access to health care today than in 2005. We have made significant progress but we are not done yet. We need to ensure that all states have equal ability to insure our children.�