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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In 2005, 24.5 percent of Texans were uninsured, 1.4 |
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million of them children; of those uninsured children, only 326,473 |
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who were eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program |
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(CHIP) were enrolled, a decrease of 36.4 percent from the 512,986 |
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children enrolled in 2003; and |
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WHEREAS, This decline in Texas' CHIP enrollment represents |
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the most extreme decline nationwide, and as of February 2007, |
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enrollment continues to fall; and |
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WHEREAS, As a joint federal-state program, financing CHIP |
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depends largely on the funds allocated to the state by the United |
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States Congress, with a generous match of $2.65 for every dollar |
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contributed by Texas for federal fiscal year 2005; under federal |
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law, however, a state must spend its entire annual CHIP block |
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allocation within three years, or those unspent amounts are |
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returned to the federal government and redistributed to other |
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states that have spent their allocations and need additional |
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federal matching funds to cover their costs; and |
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WHEREAS, Regrettably, Texas returned a total of $893.4 |
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million in federal funds between 2000 and 2006, with another $20 |
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million scheduled to be returned on March 31, 2007; in so doing, |
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Texas will likely face a special challenge in the upcoming federal |
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debate to convince Congress that it should grant the state enough |
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funds to cover all uninsured children who qualify for CHIP, but who |
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are not enrolled; and |
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WHEREAS, Against the backdrop of a federal deficit, Congress |
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is scheduled to debate the reauthorization of the CHIP block grant |
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in 2007; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates |
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that without the appropriation of an additional $9.3 billion over |
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five years above the original 1997 allocations, states will not |
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have adequate CHIP funds to maintain current caseloads, benefits, |
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and eligibility standards, requiring enrollment nationwide to be |
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cut by one-third by 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of uninsured Texas children |
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are at risk of remaining uninsured if Congress provides funding at a |
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level to support only current enrollment, leaving Texas without the |
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necessary funds to restore enrollment levels and accommodate other |
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essential uses of federal funds; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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approve the appropriation of sufficient funds for Texas' block |
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grant allocation for the State Children's Health Insurance Program |
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to enable the state to increase enrollment levels; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the |
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speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and all members of the Texas |
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delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be |
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officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the |
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Congress of the United States of America. |