[6.10.2007]
Bipartisan Senate Compromise on SCHIP Includes Incentive Grants to Prevent Childhood Obesity
On June 6, 2007 Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) announced a bi-partisan agreement had been reached amongst themselves and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) on recommendations to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). SCHIP, which will expire on September 30, 2007, was first enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to provide states with federally matched funds to give uninsured children of families with incomes that are above Medicaid eligibility levels health coverage. Among a series of other recommendations, the Senators announced that they will seek to use SCHIP reauthorization to address childhood obesity, specifically by providing states with incentive grants to cover the benefits of good nutrition and physical activity among children. For more information about the announcement, click here.
Childhood Obesity Task Force Extends Study
Reuters - Nationwide
The Debate Over Subsidizing Snacks
New York Times - New York, NY
Nutrition Education Inneffective
Associated Press - Nationwide
Obesity Spreads in Social Circles
Washington Post
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