SCHIP - At What Cost?

Children’s advocates were stunned last week when President Bush downplayed the importance of health insurance for children: “I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.”—President George W. Bush (Cleveland, 7/10/07).

Well, yes, you could. But would that be the best solution? In fact, in 2007, researchers from BYU and Arizona State found that kids who drop out of SCHIP, (the State Children’s Health Insurance Program) end up costing states more money by more frequent use of costly emergency rooms (ER). The conclusion of the study is that an attempt to limit funding for SCHIP could create a false savings because other government organizations, at the taxpayer’s expense, pay for the children with no health insurance.

This begs the question: Who is the current administration protecting? Evidently it is not the 9 million uninsured children in the United States. More likely, it is the privatized health insurance industry. What is the cost to a parent waiting in an ER for ten hours with a three year old who has a 104+ temperature?  Should we burden our ER’s with the overly costly care of colds, flu and mild allergies, rather than reserving them for those suffering acute trauma who need this special care?

There is a solution. The solution is SCHIP. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a national program designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. The program was created to address the growing problem of children in the United States without health insurance. SCHIP covered 6.9 million children at some point during Federal fiscal year 2006 and every state has an approved state plan.

The current issue at hand is that SCHIP needs to be reauthorized by September 30, 2007.  While Senate Republicans and Democrats scramble to support our children by increasing the funding by $35 billion over five years, President Bush has vowed to veto the Senate compromise and a more costly expansion being contemplated in the House. “I support the initial intent of the program,” Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. “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.”

But our poorest children can’t afford private insurance. The fact remains that they are not covered, and the solution is....to go to the emergency room? As child advocates we need to use our voices for our youngest citizens. Tell Congress that anything less than 100% health coverage for all children is unacceptable. Send the message that you care about children and youth. Make an impact today! Tell your Senators or Representative how you feel about the reauthorization of SCHIP.