WASHINGTON, (February 4, 2009)—Congressman Chandler cast his vote for Kentucky children today by supporting the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The reauthorization of this program will help the Commonwealth provide health insurance to 53% of the nearly 90,000 children currently uninsured in Kentucky. President Obama signed the bill into law this afternoon.
“I voted for this bill with a clear understanding that it will greatly strengthen the health, long-term savings, and moral conscience of our nation,” Chandler said. “In these hard economic times, this legislation could help cover the loss of employer-sponsored healthcare and prevent costly trips to the emergency room, lowering healthcare costs nationwide.”
SCHIP was created in 1997 under a Democratic president and a Republican Congress to significantly reduce the number of uninsured children in the United States—in particular, children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but unable to purchase private health insurance. The federal program provides matching funds to states to establish basic health insurance for children and aids in identifying and enrolling those who qualify.
Kentucky’s General Assembly first approved this program in 1998, and by 2003, nearly 50,000 previously uninsured children had obtained health insurance. As of 2007, over 68,000 children were covered in Kentucky through SCHIP (KCHIP), and today’s legislation will cover an estimated total of 115,000 Kentucky children and 11.1 million children nationwide by 2013.
The law will abide by the pay-as-you-go principle, requiring that all new direct government spending be saved elsewhere. According to the House Ways and Means Committee, to offset the costs of this bill, an increase in the federal tobacco tax will generate an additional $32.8 billion over the next four and a half years. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids states that this increase in the tobacco tax means that approximately 1.9 million fewer children will take up smoking.
