Children’s Health Coverage Is Next Up for Congress

By John Bouman

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is at the top of the federal agenda, and after the August recess, Congress will revisit the debate on whether or not to expand health care programs to more of America’s uninsured children.

Despite strong support from the general public as well as a bipartisan majority in favor of this children’s health care program, the Bush administration intends to veto any plan that would expand coverage. Around six million children currently receive SCHIP medical care, yet census numbers released today show that the number of uninsured children increased in 2006 to 8.7 million.   It is unacceptable that 11.7% of children have yet to benefit from such a program as SCHIP. 

States have taken it upon themselves to initiate children’s health care programming that goes above and beyond federal requirements for spending, yet the administration fails to see these efforts as positive steps in the fight against poverty and its myriad effects. On purely ideological grounds, President Bush has said that he would rather children go uninsured than have them insured by a government-support program. And rather than see the benefits of long-term, preventive health care for all American children, the President says uninsured kids should just use emergency rooms.

A popular and successful program, SCHIP finances coverage for millions of children in working poor families, specifically those with household incomes at the level just above Medicaid eligibility. Without Congressional reauthorization, SCHIP will expire on September 30 of this year. The reauthorization process offers a chance not just to continue the program but to reach the remaining uninsured children who deserve care.