Gov. Gregoire urges Bush administration to ensure children�s access to healthcare coverage

For Immediate Release: April 22, 2008

Efforts continue to expand the State Children�s Health Insurance Program

OLYMPIA � Backed by rulings on Friday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Gov. Chris Gregoire today sent a letter to the Bush administration urging a withdrawal of a federal directive that prohibits Washington, and other states, from expanding access to health care coverage for tens of thousands of children.

�Washington state leads the nation in providing a solid foundation to ensure that all of our children have access to high quality, affordable health care by 2010,� the governor wrote the President. �To do so makes sense not only from a fiscal standpoint, insofar as children who have access to routine, preventative services are kept out of emergency rooms, but also answers a moral imperative to do what we can to keep every child healthy.�

Under Gregoire�s leadership, the state�s uninsured rate for children has dropped significantly, and 84,000 more children have access to health care today than in 2005. Despite these strides, there is more to be done, and as many as 5,000 more kids could be covered if the directive is rescinded.

On Friday, two non-partisan federal agencies � the GAO and the CRS � issued separate legal opinions concluding that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exceeded its authority in issuing the directive to states.

�In my state, we are making great strides in reaching our 2010 goal; however, it is critical that the federal government is a partner in our efforts,� the governor continued. �With new information released on Friday, April 18, 2008 about the directive, I believe you have no other course but to rescind it.�

The governor urged the administration to rescind the letter to avoid lengthy and costly litigation.

A copy of the letter is available at http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/2008-04-22_leavitt.pdf.