Politicians Bicker; Clock Ticks on Kids' Health
Pres. Bush vows to veto a Democratic proposal for expanded coverage.
July 29, 2007 — -- Michael Post, a minister, and his wife Connie, who works for a small business, earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. But, private insurance is out of reach for the Dalton, Ga., family — nor would it cover therapy for their 4-year-old daughter Cadence, who is autistic.
"It just seems those of us in the middle class are sort of squeezed out. We pay taxes. We fund Medicaid programs for lower-income [people]," says Connie. "We just want an insurance program we can afford, and it's hard to find, very hard to find."
Right now, they rely on PeachCare, Georgia's version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) — a federal-state partnership that was launched a decade ago to provide coverage for children from lower income families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.
Experts say the program has been a success so far.
"The SCHIP program has made a huge difference in expanding coverage to children who did not have it before," says Ron Pollack, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA.
The program is scheduled to end Sept. 30 unless Congress reauthorizes it. And with 9 million children still lacking health insurance nationwide, Democrats in Congress want to expand SCHIP.
A Senate bill that has attracted bipartisan support would increase spending on the program by $35 billion over 5 years, while a Democratic House bill would increase it by $50 billion. They would pay for the expansion largely by raising taxes on tobacco products.
President Bush wants to add just $5 billion to the program, and has vowed to veto the Democratic proposals. He says expanding the program that much would give many parents an incentive to drop their private insurance plans, and would shift the whole country toward a government-run health care system.
Republican critics also say SCHIP is already doing more than it should. Since it allows states flexibility in how they use the funds, three states have wound up providing coverage to more adults under the program than children.
