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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.