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Reauthorize SCHIP for the Children
Tuesday November 06, 2007 Throughout October, Congress has engaged in an ongoing debate regarding reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This bipartisan program was created in 1997 by a Republican Congress and a Democrat-led Administration. Their intent was to provide children from low-income families with health insurance. This program was narrowly tailored to assist children who are not eligible for Medicaid and cannot afford private insurance. Despite our many differences on the direction of health care in America, we all agree that children deserve access to affordable health insurance. I support reauthorization of SCHIP, and I support the substantial $5 billion increase proposed by President Bush. The Democrat proposal is budget-busting and irresponsible.
Unfortunately, the legislation that came before Congress in October is vastly different from the SCHIP that was created with the laudable and popular goal of insuring America’s neediest children. Some now wish to expand that coverage to encompass adults and individuals who are not considered low-income. By failing to pass appropriate safeguards proposed by House Republicans, this taxpayer-funded program may even provide coverage to illegal aliens.
Though it is entirely counter to the intent of SCHIP, some states currently spend more of their funding on adults than they do on eligible children. It is disingenuous to be in favor of a children’s health insurance plan that actually allows states to prioritize funding for adults before ensuring that all eligible children are covered. We have asked that any reauthorization contain a threshold that requires all states to insure eligible children first.
With the current difficulties we face with our immigration policy, it is misguided for us not to protect this program from unlawful use by illegal aliens. The current proposal only requires an applicant to provide a name and Social Security number. Those familiar with the number of identity theft cases in this country know that simply providing a name and Social Security number will not be sufficient protection for real verification.
I am very concerned that the SCHIP legislation the Democrat leadership is proposing contains a budgetary gimmick that will pull the rug out from underneath millions of needy children that are covered. Funding to the program will be drastically cut in 2012 even though millions more individuals will have been brought under the umbrella of this government-run health care. This is a budgetary gimmick and dishonest.
From the very beginning, many of us in Congress have felt that our priority should be to provide funding to poor children first and foremost. By including a number of additional provisions within the plan, the current proposal would further burden the limited resources we have and shift the priority away from those who need it most. This is unnecessary and unacceptable. I have joined with several of my colleagues in supporting an alternative SCHIP bill that provides the necessary funding to continue supporting those children already covered and the more than 500,000 currently eligible kids who have not yet been enrolled.
While we often disagree on many things here in Washington, no political party has a monopoly on caring for our nation’s neediest children. We should work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that partisan politics does not stand in the way of protecting the health of future generations.