§657p Outreach regarding health insurance options available to children

Summary

Creates a task force to run a nationwide campaign that tells small businesses about how to get health coverage for children through private insurance, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The task force members are the head of the Small Business Administration (the Administrator), the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury. The campaign must teach owners about why child health coverage matters, how to make insurance more affordable (including Federal and State tax deductions and credits and the Federal tax exclusion for employer cafeteria plans under section 125), help from public programs, and the Insure Kids Now hotline. Definitions used: “Administration” = Small Business Administration; “Administrator” = head of the SBA; “certified development company” = a company in the SBA title V program; “Medicaid program” = title XIX program; “Service Corps of Retired Executives” = SCORE; “small business concern,” “small business development center,” “State,” “State Children’s Health Insurance Program,” and “women’s business center” are as defined in the cited laws; “task force” = the group above. The task force may work with SBA partners (like small business development centers, certified development companies, women’s business centers, and SCORE), make agreements with chambers of commerce, partner with small business or health groups, and link HHS regional outreach with SBA district offices. The Administrator must put clear links on the SBA website to each State’s Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and enrollment pages. The Administrator must report to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the House Committee on Small Business no later than 2 years after February 4, 2009, and every 2 years after that, with updates on the campaign.