Kerry Applauds Senate Passage of SCHIP

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Fri Aug-03-07 10:59 AM
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Kerry Applauds Senate Passage of SCHIP

08/03/2007

Kerry Applauds Senate Passage of SCHIP

Kerry Challenges Bush to Put Children before Politics

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator John Kerry made the following statement today, after the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for low-income, working Americans. Kerry offered an amendment to the bill to boost the funding of SCHIP to $50 billion dollars by rolling back Bush’s tax cuts for millionaires. The Kerry amendment fell short of passage, though the House approved a $50 billion package similar to the Kerry plan – setting the stage for high-stakes negotiations in the fall between the two versions.

“All of America’s children deserve to grow up healthy, and this vote is a step forward in the fight to get millions of kids health care. This bill is a victory for their parents, who will no longer have to choose between caring for their children when they are sick and putting food on the table. We could have gone further by rolling back Bush’s tax cuts for millionaires and insuring a million more kids, and I’m proud of my colleagues who joined me in pushing for additional SCHIP funding. But today we have a strong bill and I challenge this President to do the right thing by our kids and reconsider his veto threat. This critically important – and overwhelmingly bipartisan – improvement in health coverage for our nation’s children must move forward.”

The Bill included a Kerry Amendment that Creates a Task Force to Enroll Eligible Children of Small Business Employees and the Self-Employed.

Senator Kerry secured an amendment to the bill that requires the Small Business Administration to team with the Secretary of HHS, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and SBA’s partners to educate small business owners and employees about the eligibility and enrollment requirements for S-CHIP. A recent Urban Institute study found that one out of every four SCHIP eligible children with parents who work for a small business or are self employed, are not enrolled. These children are missing the coverage they deserve at more than twice the rate of eligible children whose parents work for large businesses.

· The Senate Bill Provides Coverage For Over 3 Million Uninsured Kids. Currently, 6.6 million children receive their health care coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In addition to preserving coverage for those children, the bi-partisan Senate bill would also cover an additional 3.2 million kids.

· The Senate Bill Helps States Increase Enrollment. The bill provides $100 million in new grants to fund state outreach and enrollment efforts to reach more children eligible for CHIP and Medicaid. The bill also allocates $49 million for a demonstration project to streamline the enrollment process for low-income children already eligible for coverage.

· The Senate Bill Improves Outreach to Children in Minority and Disadvantaged Communities. In addition to improving outreach to uninsured racial and ethnic minority children, the bi-partisan Senate bill also seeks to increase awareness of the Children’s Health Insurance Program in rural America.

· The Children’s Health Insurance Program Has Played a Vital Role in Covering Minority Children. According to Families USA, the Children’s Health Insurance Program has played a vital role in covering minority children. Approximately 50 percent of African-American and Latino children respectively are covered either by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

· The Senate Bill Improves Mental Health and Dental Coverage. The measure requires states that offer mental health services to provide coverage for those services on par with medical benefits offered under the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The measure also provides $200 million in grants to states to improve dental coverage for children.

· The Senate Bill is Fiscally Responsible. As with the current Children’s Health Insurance Program, the bi-partisan measure calls for a moderate increase in the tax already imposed on tobacco products. Specifically, the measure creates new revenue from a 61-cent increase in the excise tax on cigarettes, as well as a proportional increase on all other tobacco products.