[Oe List ...] State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

[R Williams]

For those of us in the U.S., the SCHIP issue is of vital concern.  Just a quick review, a previous Republican Congress passed the original bill to provide health insurance for children of working poor families who make too much money to qualify under Medicare or Medicaid, but not enough to pay health insurance premiums.  The feds sponsor the bill but the states administer it.  Practically every governor, Democrat and Republican, of every state is supporting new legislation to expand coverage.
   
  The current bill is set to expire at midnight on September 30.  Both the Senate and House have passed by large bi-partisan margins a bill that would expand the coverage from the current 6 million children to an additional 4 million children, every child in families whose annual income is below 200% of the federal poverty guideline, which is just over $20,000 for a family of four.
   
  Unfortunately, the President, using scare phrases like "government-sponsored health care" and "socialized medicine," has promised to veto this legislation, even though conservative Republican Senators like Orrin Hatch of Utah are imploring him to sign it.  If the President does veto, it will likely not be upheld in the Senate but will be sustained by the House.  If that happens, children in poverty-ridden states like Mississippi and others, that have no carryover funds from the current fiscal year, will have to go without health care.
   
  If you are prone to write letters to presidents and legislators, now would be the time and this would be the cause.  There is still time to ask the President to sign the bill.  If he does veto it, as is likely, then will be the time to contact Senators and Representatives asking them to not uphold the veto.  Even though this is a short-term solution that does not address the underlying problem, it does address an immediate crisis for millions of kids.  I hope you will consider it.
   
  Randy Williams
   
  PS  See Jim Rippey's post of the article by Jim Wallis.

       
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