Ohio threatens suit over health care ruling

The Bush administration has limited states in the use of money to insure low-income children.

COLUMBUS (AP) — It is highly likely Ohio will file a lawsuit against the Bush administration unless it rescinds rules that limit government health care access for low-income children, Gov. Ted Strickland said Friday.

Strickland told The Associated Press in an interview that the state’s argument against the federal rules was bolstered by a decision from the Government Accountability Office that said the Bush administration had overstepped its authority. The administration has blocked states from using money from the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, to cover children whose parents make more than 250 percent of the poverty level — $44,000 for a family of three.

“What I would hope would happen would be that the Bush administration would recognize that what they are doing is not legal, and that they would immediately take steps to rescind,” Strickland said. “If they do not, we will certainly consider other options.”

In its two-year budget plan, Ohio set aside state money to expand coverage of children to include those whose parents make between 200 percent and 300 percent of the poverty level. That money was to be paired with federal dollars under SCHIP, a joint state-federal program that has been widely popular.

But the Bush administration subsequently issued rules that wouldn’t allow states to use federal money set aside for the program to cover children whose parents made above 250 percent of the poverty level.

As of January 1, Ohio children whose parents made between 200 percent and 300 percent of the poverty level were to be eligible for coverage. But now only children whose parents make below the 250 percent mark are eligible, based on the administration’s ruling.

The administration’s policy changes should have been submitted to Congress and the comptroller general before going into effect, government auditors said in a letter released Friday. The administration instead sent a letter to state health officials notifying them of the changes, which were described as a clarification of existing law.

Strickland feels vindicated by the auditors’ findings, saying he repeatedly asked Bush administration officials to provide legal rationale for their actions but was rebuffed.

“I can’t imagine the administration just simply ignoring this,” Strickland said. “But quite frankly given the fact that they shouldn’t have undertaken this action in the first place ... I don’t know how to predict what the reaction will be.”

Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency is working with states that want to provide coverage to children in families whose income exceeds 250 percent of the poverty level. Despite the GAO’s opinion, the provisions outlined by the agency in its letter to the states will remain in effect, he added.

Ohio is currently pursuing multiple avenues to expand government health care coverage for low-income children. It followed the Bush administration’s advice and reapplied to cover children between 200 percent and 250 percent of the poverty level, but has not heard back, Strickland said.

The state is also pursuing an appeal of the rejection of its original plan, but it hopes the auditors’ rulings will make that unnecessary.