Leaders Urge Congress, Bush to Reauthorize Health Insurance for Children

by James Parks, Jul 25, 2007

More than 8 million of America’s children have no health insurance—and a broad coalition of groups came together on Capitol Hill today to send an important message: Health care coverage for our nation’s children is something everyone should agree on.

The coalition is urging Congress to pass, and President Bush to sign, legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and provide coverage for a vulnerable population our nation cannot afford to neglect—our children.

The 10-year-old SCHIP program, on which some 6.6 million low-income children now rely for health care, is set to expire Sept. 30—and Bush repeatedly has threatened to veto bipartisan legislation that would renew the program.

The bill, approved July 19 by the Senate Finance Committee, provides an additional $35 billion over current costs for five years and would extend coverage to 3.2 million more children. Click here to read the full story.

The SCHIP program has strong public support. Nearly two-thirds of voters surveyed late last week said they think Bush would be doing the wrong thing if he vetoed the legislation. Eight in 10 voters surveyed say they believe that such a high number of uninsured children represents a crisis or very serious problem. More than six in 10 voters say the current health care system is not meeting the needs of children.

The national public opinion survey was conducted on behalf of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) by Public Opinion Strategies Inc.

At a Washington, D.C., press conference this morning where leaders of unions, religious and community groups called on Congress to reauthorize the program, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said federal funding for SCHIP needs to be reauthorized

with enough money to cover all the kids who are being kicked out of the health coverage their parents used to get at work. As a nation, we need much more than that—we need a comprehensive national system that guarantees health care for all and does not depend on private coverage purchased by employers who are squeezed in brutally competitive markets by the unsustainably high cost of care.

Also at the press conference, Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer of CHA, said:

We stand united because we believe Congress and the president should do the right thing for our children and our nation—reauthorize a critically important program that is supported by the vast majority of voters.

Bush says he will veto the bill because, as he told The Washington Post, expanding coverage to more uninsured children “opens an avenue for people to switch from private insurance” to SCHIP. Bush also has been quoted as saying the children cut out of SCHIP could get medical attention at emergency rooms.

Veteran and influential Republican Sens. Charles Grassley (Iowa), ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, and Orrin Hatch (Utah) have publicly urged Bush to withdraw his veto threat. Instead, Bush insists Congress agrees to his funding level of SCHIP in his budget proposal, which will force about 100,000 children out of the program, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Not only does a lack of insurance affect children’s health, it hurts their education as well, says AFT President Edward McElroy:

We still have children coming to school who are underfed, uncared for and whose illnesses are untreated. Without addressing those needs, it is much more difficult to address their educational needs. We cannot expect to improve children’s lives and children’s education if we—as a society—aren’t prepared to tackle problems like poverty, health care and nutrition.

Rev. Eileen Lindner, deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches, says renewal of SCHIP is a moral issue.

Health care for our children is a moral issue for the nation. National leadership must be accountable to enable the health coverage children need to live the lives for which they were created.

In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, AFL-CIO Legislative Director William Samuel says the Senate bill is

…well-targeted to extend coverage to millions of children. However. we would like to see the funding level increase to the full $50 billion allowed under the [fiscal year] 2008 budget resolution, which would reach even more of the 9 million uninsured children in this country.

The House version of the bill does include the $50 billion funding level in the budget resolution.

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