Children's Hospital Patients March on Washington

June 20, 2007 — -- Children's hospital patients marched on Capitol Hill opposing a Bush administration proposal they fear will limit the eligibility of low-income families with sick children for federal support through the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

"The children and families are here as personal eye witnesses to how important children's hospitals are," said Lawrence McAndrews, head of the non-profit group the National Association of Children's Hospitals that arranged the Washington trip for the child advocates and their familiies.

The NACH supports reauthorization and increased funding for the SCHIP, a bill whose provisions are up for debate in Congress. The advocacy group contends that between the proposed changes to SCHIP and Medicaid, two-thirds of the nation's uninsured children can be insured.

McAndrews hopes the SCHIP legislation provisions are approved so that "all children are covered with proper policy matched with appropriate funding."

The families who took to the streets in Washington put a face to the policy debate on the floor of Congress. They share two things in common: their children got sick and they couldn't afford health insurance. They describe it as every parent's worst nightmare and hope to help other families avoidit by fighting for Medicaid legislation. And they came armed with stories of survival.

At 5 years old, Joseph Greenwood's heart failed. After a complicated heart transplant and medical bills that reached the lifetime insurance cap, his family -- an upper-middle class family of 4 -- turned to Medicaid.

His mother Angela Greenwood said she came to ask Congress: "Why aren't we [United States] number one in healthcare?" Greenwood says she is committed to "make things better for all other children and tell Congress that every decision they make is life or death for these children."

Marie Reyes came from New York State with her son Randy, who was born with cerebral palsy. Reyes was told then her son would never walk or talk. Seventeen surgeries later, Randy knowsn English, Spanish, sign language and takes tae kwon do.