Congressman Pete Stark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Thursday, May 10, 2007
CONTACT: Yoni Cohen, (202) 225-3202

STARK, CORBETT, HAYASHI AND SWANSON TO HONOR MOTHER’S DAY BY CALLING FOR
INCREASED FUNDING FOR CHIDRENS HEALTH INSURANCE
SEIU, Children’s Hospital Oakland, CMA, Advocates and Caregivers to Call for SCHIP Expansion

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In honor of Mother’s Day, U.S. Representative Pete Stark (D-Fremont), Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, will join children’s advocates, doctors, Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), Assembly member Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) and Assembly member Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) to call for increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The event will take place on Saturday, May 12th at 2:30 p.m. at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland.

“Every child in California and throughout America should be guaranteed high quality health care,” said Stark. “Expanding SCHIP is the bare minimum of what we should be doing to improve our broken health care system. As costs rise and employers drop coverage, health coverage is becoming unaffordable for many families. We must at least provide a health care safety net for children who are our country’s future.”

Known as Healthy Families in California, SCHIP currently provides health care to more than six million low-income children nationwide. Yet the future of this important program is at risk. President Bush called for reducing the number of children who benefit from SCHIP in his budget for fiscal year 2008. In contrast, the new Democratic Congress plans to provide an additional $50 billion for SCHIP, extending coverage to millions of uninsured children.

“As representatives of front-line healthcare workers, we know firsthand how important SCHIP is to millions of families,” said Sal Rosselli, President, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West. “There are 9 million uninsured children in the United States, and every day our workers see parents who are worried they will have to choose between taking care of their sick child and paying the rent. The best gift we can give to mothers this Mother's Day is the certainty that their children can get the healthcare they need when they need it.”

“The future of SCHIP is directly tied to the future of millions of children who depend on this program to provide the health coverage they would otherwise live without,” said Mary L. Dean, senior vice president, external affairs at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland. “We know that a healthy child is more likely to excel in school and later in life. Children's Hospital Oakland not only supports the funding of SCHIP, but we ask leaders to consider increasing the financial support it currently receives to counter balance the soaring costs of health care.”

WHO: Congressman Pete Stark (D-Fremont), Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), Assembly member Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) Assembly member Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) Mary L. Dean, Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland Sal Rosselli, President of SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West Dr. Jim Hanson, California Medical Association Dr. Sheldon Orloff, Partnership for Quality Care Dr. Hung Tran, Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland Pediatricians Patient caregivers SCHIP participants Mothers and their children

-30-