President Obama Signs SCHIP Extension into Law (Updated 2/6/09)
On 02/04/09, President Obama signed into law PL 111-3 which will provide $32.8 billion extra over the next four and a half years for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Included as part of the SCHIP reauthorization is the "Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act" (ICHIA) which authorizes states to waive the current five-year waiting period that limits millions of legal permanent resident children and pregnant women from receiving health insurance benefits.
On 02/03/09, AILA issued a press release commending congress for passing the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act.
The House first passed the SCHIP bill 01/14/09 by a 289-139 vote. The Senate amended it and passed the current version 01/29/09 by a 66-32 vote.