Posted by: Hank Johnson (March 13, 2007, 02:34 PM)
Today I introduced legislation to save PeachCare, Georgia's State Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP) program.
The current S-CHIP funding formula allows some states to accumulate surpluses of unused funds while other states, like Georgia, face severe shortfalls and are unable to provide for the basic health of children.
This is a clearly misguided way of distributing imperative, life-saving resources.
My legislation will redistribute S-CHIP funds from states that are running surpluses to cover the estimated $745 million shortfall among the 14 states which are in crisis. Currently, any excess S-CHIP funds must be returned to the federal treasury.
If my plan is adopted by Congress, Georgia will receive the estimated $131 million it needs to avert the children's healthcare crisis.
Please call your elected officials ask them to support this necessary legislation.
Posted by: Hank Johnson (March 06, 2007, 11:24 PM)
Starting today, I will speak every day on the floor of the United States House of Representatives to bring needed attention to the impending PeachCare crisis.
On Sunday, March 11th, Georgia's PeachCare program will stop accepting new participants due to a lack of funding.
Not enough is being done on the state or federal level to address this issue. We face the possibility of seeing hundreds of thousands of kids without health insurance in Georgia and throughout the nation if we do not fix this problem. I stand before you to urge your immediate support. I'll use every tool at my disposal to help bring about a resolution.
Posted by: Hank Johnson (February 12, 2007, 05:25 PM)
AS I SAID ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS last week, fourteen states, including Georgia, continue to face serious funding shortfalls for their S-CHIP Programs. Hundreds of thousands of children stand to lose their health care coverage if Congress does not come up with an immediate solution.
Georgians: without courageous political action at the state and federal levels, we are on the brink of losing PeachCare.
It is precisely because PeachCare affects the lives of so many young Americans that those involved in the policy process must rise above politics. No solution can be achieved if one party blames another. No improved policy will come out of partisan attacks.
Not all federally funded social programs are effective. They are by nature experimental, and we should not hesitate to re-evaluate those whose performance disappoints. But -- and I cannot emphasize this enough -- PeachCare works. It has been an overwhelming success. It has improved and in some cases saved the lives of thousands of Georgia's children.
We must not allow such a wonderful program to die. That's why I, and many others in the Georgia delegation, am doing all I can in Washington to secure the funding necessary for PeachCare's survival.
But I can't do it alone.
I am hopeful Governor Perdue and the Georgia General Assembly will join with me, the Georgia Congressional Delegation, and the Democratic Leadership to achieve a policy victory, not a partisan one.
Posted by: Hank Johnson (February 06, 2007, 05:02 PM)
YESTERDAY I SPOKE on the House floor to urge my colleagues to adequately fund PeachCare, Georgia's fantastic but severely underfunded children's health insurance program.
In 1997, Congress created the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) to help states provide health coverage to a growing number of uninsured children. Ten years later, more than six million children have been enrolled in this program. They are getting the check-ups, medicine, and treatment they need and deserve.
Unfortunately, S-CHIP is threatened by severely inadequate funding. The budget that the president has introduced neglects to address the huge shortfalls threatening S-CHIP's future and the health of our children. Hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of losing vital health coverage.
Without Congress' help, Georgia will be unable to provide healthcare for the three-hundred thousand kids currently enrolled in PeachCare. Increased federal funding is absolutely imperative. Many massive federal programs are inefficient and ineffective. S-CHIP is a wonderful exception. PeachCare has been praised by parents, doctors, and government officials alike. We must save it and, in doing so, save the futures of hundreds of thousands of children.
Please watch my speech and then click "Share" to send it to your friends. And please keep urging your elected representatives to save S-CHIP. Keep the letters coming!
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--Hank
