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Lawmakers must OK health coverage for kids

The Arizona Daily Star

Our view: Wrangling, threat of Bush veto jeopardize bill backed 17-4 by Senate panel to expand health insurance for poor ....

Wrangling over political philosophy could leave 6.6 million low-income children who depend on the State Children's Health Insurance Program without health coverage if lawmakers cannot agree and reauthorize the bill before it expires Sept. 30.

The health and well-being of America's children should not be used as a football in an ideological drive to privatize medical insurance. The decade-old federal program, dubbed SCHIP, now costs $5 billion a year and covers kids whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid — but not enough to buy private health insurance coverage.
A bipartisan bill approved 17-4 earlier this month by the Senate Finance Committee— with Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl voting against it — would continue the baseline payments of $25 billion over five years and add $35 billion to maintain health care for the 6.6 million kids now on SCHIP and expand coverage to another 3.2 million low-income kids who don't have medical coverage for another five years.

Posted by Editor at July 30, 2007 07:55 AM

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