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Op-Ed:
President Should Sign Children’s Health Insurance Bill
By Rep. Stephanie
Herseth Sandlin
September
28, 2007
Recently, the United
States House of Representatives and the United States Senate each approved
a reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program,
also known as SCHIP. I’ve been a strong supporter of this legislation,
so I was proud to join a bipartisan majority to cast my vote in favor
of sending the bill to the President for his signature.
Unfortunately, President
Bush has threatened to veto the bill, which, if sustained, would result
in fewer low-income children having health insurance. I am extremely
hopeful that the President will back off of his veto threat and do the
right thing. The President should put the health care of our nation’s
children ahead of partisan politics.
Nationwide, the
bill reauthorizes SCHIP for the more than 6 million children currently
covered and provides additional coverage for approximately 3.8 million
more low-income children who would otherwise have no health insurance.
So, by reauthorizing and strengthening SCHIP for five years, we would
ensure coverage for approximately 10 million children. That is a lofty
– and worthy – goal.
Looking locally,
this bill represents significant progress for health care coverage for
children in South Dakota. While estimates vary, in South Dakota alone
the funding provided through this bill could potentially provide health
insurance for more than 8,000 children who would otherwise be uninsured.
Currently, approximately 11,000 South Dakota children per month are
covered under SCHIP.
To be sure, this
is a pressing priority for families in South Dakota. And with the current
bill set to expire on September 30th of this year, time is of the essence.
As a backstop, we have included a temporary extension of the program
to November 16th of this year.
But if we fail to
enact this stronger SCHIP Reauthorization, it’s likely that millions
more low-income, uninsured children – including thousands in South Dakota
- won’t get the preventive care they need, and will likely receive care
in the more costly environment of emergency rooms.
While I’m disappointed
we couldn’t include important Medicare provisions that were in the CHAMP
Act the House passed before the August recess, we’ll keep fighting to
enact those provisions this year. For instance, the CHAMP bill that
passed the House included vital extensions of rural Medicare payment
policies affecting South Dakotans’ access to doctors, hospitals, and
ambulance services.
As a member of the
Rural Health Care Coalition, I’ve worked hard to preserve these provisions
for rural America, including extensions of Medicare incentive payments
for physicians working in underserved areas and extensions of payment
increases for ambulance services in rural areas. Similar provisions
were included in the comprehensive rural health care package that I
helped to introduce with the Coalition earlier this year. I’m hopeful
that the Senate and House will act before the end of the year to pass
these important Medicare provisions.
But for now, the
President has the ball in his court, and the future of this successful
program for children’s health insurance is up to him. I urge him to
take advantage of this opportunity to provide better health care options
for our nation’s children.
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