Our Children, Our Future

Congress passed an excellent, bi-partisan bill to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). President Bush vetoed it, claiming we can't afford it. (Any guesses about how many days' funding for the president's war for oil it would take fund this bill fully?) Congress is scheduled to vote to override this veto on October 18. I just received an automated telephone call today from the US Chamber of Commerce claiming that this bill would help too many children - not just the poor ones. Balderdash! SCHIP is intended to provide healthcare coverage for children of working poor families; they and only they will benefit from this bill. Here are a few questions and answers for your consideration:

Is this SCHIP bill really necessary?
Yes. Almost one third of our children are receiving healthcare under a program paid by our taxes. This SCHIP bill offers our best hope for healthy, productive, self-supporting families.

• Our Protection for Working Americans -- With SCHIP, parents can keep working even when their salaries and benefits can’t pay for healthcare for their children.
• * 70% of the children now enrolled in SCHIP are in families with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level (about $40,000 for a family of four).
• * This bill limits states' ability to enroll children whose family income is more than 300% of the federal poverty level. It prohibits enrolling undocumented immigrants.
• * About 45% of new enrollees will come from working families living in poverty (about $20,000 per year for a family of four).
• Our Children's Safety Net -- SCHIP helps families purchase private healthcare for their children. Four million children are eligible for SCHIP but not enrolled.
• * You do the math: aren't most, if not all, of these the 45% of expected new enrollees who are now eligible for SCHIP but for whom there is no funding? States need the federal funding this bill provides to reach out to those children, and this need is growing.
• * The percent of children younger than 18 with public health plan coverage, including SCHIP, increased from 22% in 1997 to 32% in 2006. (Source: National Health Interview Surveys, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997 – 2006.)
• * The 2006 National Health Interview Survey results showed for children younger than 18 years are 9.3% uninsured, 59.7% with private insurance, and 32.3% with public health plan coverage at the time of interview (Source: Early release of selected estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, tables 1.1-1.2, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006.)
• Our Insurance for a Productive Future Workforce -- Regular and timely healthcare is a necessary part of development to our children's full potential as productive adults.

Is SCHIP really a good solution?
Yes. The availability of health insurance coverage continues to decline. Our children’s access to healthcare is better than for adults, but healthcare coverage for children would be worse if it were not for SCHIP.

• More than 17 million Americans younger than 65 years – almost a third of whom are middle income – have not had health insurance to help cover their medical bills for at least 4 years. (Source: “The Long-Term Uninsured in America, 2002-2005: Estimates for the U.S. Population under Age 65,” aAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality, MEPS, Statistical Brief # 183.)
• * “Had public programs such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) not enrolled more individuals, the number would have been higher.” (Source: State of the States, January 2006, Finding Their Own Way, Alice Burton, et al., Isabel Friedenzohn, ed., publication of AcademyHealth, national program office for State Coverage Initiatives, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.)

Can we afford it?
We can't afford not to have SCHIP, and we can't afford to reduce funding for this critical program.

• There is no general tax increase in this bill.
• * SCHIP will be partly funded through an additional 61 cents per pack of cigarettes (federal tax).
• * Increased tobacco taxes have been shown to have the greatest impact on decreased smoking in youth.
• * The President’s Cancer Panel recently recommended imposing an excise tax on tobacco products to help discourage youth smoking.
• * This plan redirects children into privately managed plans and should increase the total number of children enrolled in private plans.
• * According to the Congressional Budget Office, this plan is “as good as it gets” when it comes to reducing the danger that families will choose SCHIP over their current health insurance program.

We owe it to our children.
Our future depends on the health and well-being of our children. Our moral and ethical values require that we help those who are working hard to help themselves. Our humanity demands that we take care of our young.