House Fails to Override President Bush's Veto of SCHIP Legislation
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives failed this week, by a vote of 156-273, to override President Bush's veto of the SCHIP reauthorization bill (H.R. 976). A BIAA Action Alert had been issued in recent weeks asking brain injury advocates to contact their Representatives to urge them to vote to override the president's veto of the SCHIP legislation. This SCHIP reauthorization bill included a six-month moratorium on implementing the proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule to restrict use of the Medicaid Rehabilitative Services Option; this rule would have a harmful impact on many individuals with TBI.
BIAA has formally submitted comments to CMS opposing implementation of the rule. These comments are available in the "Policy & Legislation" section of BIAA's website, located at http://www.biausa.org/policyissues.htm.
Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives is now expected to push forward with a new version of the SCHIP reauthorization bill, containing minor changes which are not expected to be substantive, but may give some Republicans added political coverage.
