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September 26, 2007
State officials say Bush veto will jeopardize insurance coverage for state
children
President Bush’s expected veto of a popular children’s health insurance
program would jeopardize coverage for 25,000 low- and moderate-income West
Virginia children, state health advocates said Tuesday.
“There’s nothing in the world more important to our future as a nation and
state than the health and well-being of our children,” said Renate Pore,
director of the West Virginia Health Kids and Families Coalition.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program is set to expire Sunday.
House members were expected to approve a compromise bill to renew and expand
the program late Tuesday, and the Senate was expected to pass the proposal
Thursday. Bush has repeatedly promised to veto the plan, which would double
spending.
A dozen health-care advocates, including state legislators, health-clinic
managers and union organizers, gathered at the FamilyCare health center on
Charleston’s West Side Tuesday afternoon. They said the president has his
priorities wrong.
“This program has kept millions of [U.S.] children insured and with health
care,” said Dennis Sparks, director of the West Virginia Council of Churches.
Across the country, lobbying groups for doctors, insurance companies and
hospitals have supported Congress’ plan to renew CHIP.
A 60 percent federal tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco products
would pay for the program’s expansion.
Bush has said that the bill federalizes health care and gives help to wealthy
families who already have private health insurance. The president wants a less
costly program.
Perry Bryant, director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, said
the insurance industry wouldn’t support the bill if it created a program that
“crowded out” private insurance plans.
“It simply doesn’t make sense,” Bryant said of Bush’s threatened veto. “This
is a conservative piece of legislation. It expands health insurance for 4
million children.”
CHIP helps children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, yet
can’t afford private health insurance.
In West Virginia, CHIP pays for health insurance for children whose parents
make up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level or about $41,000 a year.
Some CHIP families are required to pay a small premium every three months.
If CHIP is renewed, all 25,000 West Virginia children who now qualify will
keep their CHIP coverage, while 4,000 to 5,000 additional kids are expected to
sign up.
State health advocates said the expansion is needed because many private
employers in West Virginia no longer offer health insurance or make plans so
expensive that workers can’t afford them.
The bill before Congress calls for a $35 billion increase over five years.
Bush supports a $5 billion increase.
The House could override Bush’s expected veto with a two-thirds vote, but
congressional observers don’t believe the bill is likely to get that many votes.
Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Robert C. Byrd, both D-W.Va., as well as the
state’s three members of Congress, are expected to support the compromise bill.
“The vast majority of children covered would be from low-income working
families,” said Rick Wilson, area director of the American Friends Service
Committee. “This is a question of values and priorities. President Bush is
profoundly out of step with the wishes of the American people.”
To contact staff writer Eric Eyre, use e-mail or call 348-4869.
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