SF 462

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A resolution
urging support for and reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance
Program.

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota regards the health of our children
and their parents as of paramount importance to families in our state; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota regards poor child and parental
health as a threat to the educational achievement and social and psychological well-being of the
families of our state; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota considers protecting the health of
our children and their parents to be essential to the well-being of our families and the quality of
life in our state; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota considers the State Childrena??s Health
Insurance Program, which as of July 2006 covered over 23,000 uninsured Minnesota children,
parents, and pregnant women, to be an integral part of the arrangements for health benefits for the
families of the state of Minnesota; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota recognizes the value of the State
Childrena??s Health Insurance Program in preserving wellness, preventing and treating disease,
improving health outcomes, and reducing overall health costs; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota considers the federal funding
available for the State Childrena??s Health Insurance Program to be indispensable for providing
health benefits for families of modest means; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges Congress to
timely reauthorize the State Childrena??s Health Insurance Program to ensure continued State
Childrena??s Health Insurance Program funding for the state in a flexible manner that best meets
the needs of the state.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the governor to use his best
efforts to work with the Minnesota delegation to ensure that the State Childrena??s Health Insurance
Program is reauthorized in a timely manner.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature proclaims that all components of state
government should work together with educators, health care providers, and social workers to
ensure that all available public and private assistance for providing health benefits to uninsured
families in this state be used to the maximum extent possible.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the governor to use his best
efforts to provide meaningful assistance to help identify and enroll children and parents who
qualify for medical assistance or the MinnesotaCare program and are eligible for State Childrena??s
Health Insurance Program funding.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States,
the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United
States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.