There are currently 48 million Americans without health insurance, a large number of whom are children. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program, enacted a decade ago - intended to help kids whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but who have neither employer-paid insurance nor private health care policies - is now up for renewal.
This very successful program has broad bi-partisan support, but President Bush has threatened to veto, apparently, because SCHIP might work better than private insurance. "My concern is that when you expand eligibility...you’re really beginning to open up an avenue for people to switch from private insurance to the government," Bush told the Washington Post Monday.
The House legislation, the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection or CHAMP Act, was passed along party lines Aug. 6 with a vote of 225-204. It authorizes an additional $50 billion in health care coverage over five years, benefiting 6 million children currently covered by SCHIP and an additional 5 million additional low-income children who are eligible but not receiving care due to funding shortfalls.
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