The Bush Administration has been a long time opposer to using federal monies to insure adults using the State’s Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). They showed their strength in this opposition by creating new guidelines that make it pretty much impossible for states to expand their children’s insurance programs. This is also die to this year’s debates on the matter.

The States sued the Bush Administration as a reaction. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the federal government issued a 29 page rule book for SCHIP, as well as cut the Medicaid finding for any family earning 100-200 percent of the poverty level.

MinnesotaCare, which is Minnesota’s SCHIP program, provides coverage for about 18,000 adults who fall into this range of income levels. So this is not good news for them. If there is no federal funding , the premiums will quadruple for these 18,000. Brian McClung, a spokesman for MN Governor Tim Pawlenty says, “A significant loss of federal funding would seriously jeopardize the state’s ability to assist low-income residents in need of health insurance.”

So why does MinnesotaCare allow parents to be covered in the first place? “We believe that by covering parents, you improve access for kids,” said Minnesota’s Medicaid director, Christine Bronson.

The cuts would have been in effect right now, but the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid just granted Minnesota a two-week extension to work it all out. 29,000 fingers are crossed.