ICHIA
The Immigrant Child Health Improvement Act (S. 1104) was introduced by Senators Chafee (R-RI) and Clinton (D-NY) in May, 2005. A House bill (H.R. 1233) was introduced a month earlier by Representatives Diaz-Balart (R-FL 21 st) and Waxman (D-CA 30 th). ICHIA has been introduced several times before. In 2003, it was successfully attached to the Senate’s Medicare bill, but later stripped out by the President. The act would allow states to use federal funds to provide Medicaid to legally present pregnant women and their children regardless of when they entered the U.S. Both bills are still in committee
