在布什计划中某些未出生的婴儿会获得医疗保险权(上)
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - The Bush administration is seeking to craft a controversial policy that would let states define fetuses as persons eligible for coverage under a public health insurance program for children, according to a draft letter from the office that oversees the government's health programs for the poor.
In an undated draft letter to state health officials obtained by Reuters Health on Friday, the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said that the administration would propose a new rule "in the near future" to allow states to extend medical coverage to an "unborn child" under the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP.
Although the rule would allow states to expand health coverage for pregnant women not eligible currently for either SCHIP or Medicaid, some critics see the Bush plan as a way to establish the concept of a fetus as an individual--a central theme in the debate over abortion.
"Secretary Thompson will be proposing that for purposes of the SCHIP program, the unborn child may be considered a 'targeted low-income child' by the state and therefore eligible for SCHIP if other applicable state eligibility requirements are met," the letter said.
Dennis G. Smith oversees the Medicaid and state operations center for the CMS, formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration., 百拇医药
In an undated draft letter to state health officials obtained by Reuters Health on Friday, the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said that the administration would propose a new rule "in the near future" to allow states to extend medical coverage to an "unborn child" under the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP.
Although the rule would allow states to expand health coverage for pregnant women not eligible currently for either SCHIP or Medicaid, some critics see the Bush plan as a way to establish the concept of a fetus as an individual--a central theme in the debate over abortion.
"Secretary Thompson will be proposing that for purposes of the SCHIP program, the unborn child may be considered a 'targeted low-income child' by the state and therefore eligible for SCHIP if other applicable state eligibility requirements are met," the letter said.
Dennis G. Smith oversees the Medicaid and state operations center for the CMS, formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration., 百拇医药