New Washington Showdown on Insurance

Oct 25, 11:10 AM

Current Headlines: Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have surprised Republicans with a revised bill for the vetoed State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The bill still calls for a $35 billion expansion of the healthcare program for children in poor families, but makes some apparent concessions to President George Bush, who vetoed the measure earlier this month.

Among them is a provision making illegal immigrants ineligible for coverage, and another that eases adults out of the program in one year rather than two, as in the original bill, the Washington Post reported.

However, Democrats still fund the expansion with a 61-cent per package tax on cigarettes, which Bush has opposed.

A vote was expected Thursday, a day after the White House indicated Bush could accept legislation that would expand the program by about $20 billion over five years. That's four times the original cap Bush had called for, the report said.