January 29th, 2009

Reports the Times-Leader:

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey on Wednesday said he expects the Senate to approve the extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and send it to President Obama to sign.

In a teleconference Wednesday, Casey said passage of the bill could mean health care coverage for an additional 100,000 Pennsylvania children and another 4.1 million nationwide.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said the Republican legislator has demonstrated support for the program in the last Congress.

As of January, 183,891 children were enrolled in the program in Pennsylvania – up from 165,000 at the same time last year, Casey said. In Luzerne County, as of Jan. 3, 890 children were in the program.

The Senate continued to debate the proposed expansion of SCHIP on Wednesday. The House of Representatives passed a comparable bill nearly two weeks ago by a vote of 289-139.