Passing SCHIP
Posted by Scott Johnson at 10/3/2007 2:33 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
Passing SCHIP?
Federal and state governments are working together! Republicans and democrats are in agreement! The number of American children without health insurance has decreased! So who is fighting about SCHIP… and why?
SCHIP, an acronym for State Children’s Health Insurance Plan, is a partnership between federal and state governments: it is run separately in each state, according to federal guidelines. (That’s the “working together” part.) SCHIP was introduced in 1997 to insure around 9 million American children in low-income families who lack health coverage. Last year, a study put the total number of kids covered by SCHIP at 6.9 million.
That’s the good news: millions of formerly uninsured children now have affordable health coverage thanks to SCHIP. Nobody wants to see coverage end for these kids. (That’s the “republicans and democrats in agreement” part.) But here’s the bad news: federal funding for SCHIP expires on September 30, 2007 – five days away. And as the clock continues to tick toward this deadline, it’s the politicians who are fighting about SCHIP. (I’m sure you guessed that.) And the reason they are fighting is because they can’t agree how much the program should expand and who should be included.
SCHIP funding has cost $40 billion over the past decade. Last month, President Bush announced stricter federal guidelines that would limit states’ plans to expand their programs. He favors a funding increase of $5 billion, and has vowed to veto currently proposed legislation that would grow SCHIP by $35 billion. Democrats are accusing him of not caring about America’s children…
Did I mention that funding expires in five days? There isn’t time to fight, no less write about it! Surely there is a workable middle ground between $5 and $35 billion. (I’m no mathematician, but $20 billion comes to mind.) And as far as restrictions, maybe states should be given a little more leeway when establishing SCHIP guidelines for their unique populations. But wait! That’s would be consensus, and consensus is hard to come by in Washington. Especially heading into an election year. Who will win this fight? Stay tuned… and let’s hope that it’s the children.
Our nation's economy has been going through some rough times lately. The strength of our dollar is falling while the strength of the euro is rising. While health care for children is a great idea on paper, can we really afford it? For a country that was built on freedom from its own government, everyone seems to rely on them a bit too much. I'm sure the same people that are out there fighting for their free SCHIP were also complaining about the lack of services they received while they had it. Go buy your own health insurance!
Besides, $40 Billion dollars can be placed into more valuable programs which can help to add a little more value to the dollar and strengthen our economy.
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DENIED!
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