SCHIP

Iowa this week took a big bipartisan step toward covering uninsured low-income kids, but without yet settling the question of how to pay for it. The Bush Administration last year vetoed bipartisan legislation aimed at expanding SCHIP (the State Children's Health Insurance Program) and issued regulations that make it harder for states to broaden SCHIP eligibility on their own. Slightly more than nine million of the nation's 47 million uninsured are children, and two-thirds of the children are eligible for either SCHIP or Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Still with a striking 97-0 vote, Iowa's House showed a commendable commitment to covering all kids by 2011. The state has also set a goal of covering kids and adults alike by 2013. The state House bill, similar but not identical to legislation that has passed the state Senate, would cost $30.8 million a year when fully implemented, according to the Des Moines Register.