Expand kids’ health insurance
Measure would help state plan while insuring more children
The change in administrations offers a chance to expand a health insurance program important to children, and to bring the rest of the nation in line with coverage already supported by New York State. President George W. Bush vetoed the federal version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, but President Obama supports it.
The House, in anticipation, recently offered an overwhelming victory for the measure, supported by all four representatives from Western New York, including Republican freshman Chris Lee. The bill, which would affect the lives of an additional 4 million children, is expected to be handled in the Senate promptly. It deserves swift passage.
New York State should be given credit for having expanded its version of the program, commonly known as SCHIP. If the federal measure is passed by the Senate and approved, as expected, by Obama, the expansion also would mean $40 million a year for this cash-strapped state as federal financial support flows to what until now has been supported by New York taxpayers.
Moreover, it would mean comprehensive care for an additional 4 million children in these hard economic times. Eligibility would be extended to families with incomes as high as 450 percent of the poverty rate, which is the same limit New York set Sept. 1 as it raised the qualification level from 250 percent.
Despite the worthiness of expanding children’s health insurance, many Republicans feel that doing so would be wasteful.
John C. Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a conservative Dallas-based think tank, has developed an alternative plan that would call for using current and expected future funds to make the child tax credit refundable, making the tax credit conditional on proof of any credible insurance and allowing states to charge actuarially fair premiums for children who enroll in SCHIP and/or Medicaid.
Still, the economic downturn has forced many families to forgo necessary medications and preventative health care for themselves and their children. Expanding the children’s health insurance program will alleviate much of the financial burden for states like New York and provide for a better, healthier future for America’s young.
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