Last week, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, which had been approved by the House of Representatives a week prior. The bill, which President Obama is expected to sign, will renew and expand the State Children’s Health Program, also known as SCHIP. SCHIP is a federal program that gives matching funds to states to provide health insurance for the children of families that make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private health insurance.

The Act also includes a provision that would repeal the five-year waiting period for legal immigrants. Today, permanent residents of the U.S. are required to wait five years before they are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. Once signed into law, this act will remove that waiting period provision and will open up the children of permanent residents to be eligible to receive this federally-funded health insurance coverage.