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Senate advances plan to lift CHIP waiting period for legal permanent resident children
Summary
Senators debated and narrowly approved SB225 to lift the five-year CHIP waiting period for legal permanent resident children; sponsors said the change covers only children, would not reduce existing CHIP slots, and leverages federal matching funds.
The Utah Senate approved Senate Bill 225 on March 9 to allow legal permanent resident children earlier access to the Children—s Health Insurance Program by lifting the five-year waiting period.
Sen. Robles, sponsor of the measure, said the bill targets legal permanent resident children who "came here legally" and emphasized the policy as a way to cover children whose families follow legal immigration procedures. He listed supporting organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Association of Utah Community Health, Intermountain Pediatric Society, League of Women Voters of Utah, Utah Health Policy Project and United Way of Salt Lake.
In floor questions, Sen. Knudsen raised the fiscal concern that the bill had a "very large fiscal note" and that the funding had not yet been secured. Robles responded that the bill would not take CHIP slots away from other children and that the proposal included an allocation for approximately 800 children and a substantial federal match (sponsor cited a match near 4:1 for CHIP and 3:1 for Medicaid in his floor remarks).
Opponents pressed fiscal and prioritization questions. After a later call of the Senate, floor passage was recorded: SB225 passed by a close vote, 15 yay to 14 nay, and will be forwarded to the House.
