Agreeing on SCHIP Expansion: The Debate Rages On

Today, one of the best things about American life, its healthcare programs, is also becoming the bane of a large number of middle class American families. Healthcare in America is one of the most controversial issues today, with so many angles to it that one would feel quite lost maneuvering through the maze of arguments and counter-arguments for and against its proposed expansion.

The poor in America get healthcare through Medicaid, a government initiative. The well-off get it through private insurance carriers or through their employers. There is a middle layer, however, which is neither rich enough to be able to afford private insurance (and certainly do not get healthcare benefits from their employers) nor ‘poor’ enough to be covered by Medicaid.

Obviously, the people stuck in this layer are frustrated. Imagine having an income of $44,000 a year to take care of your family of four, only to find out your company does not take care of your healthcare; so your children have no health insurance. You then realize you do not earn enough to be able to afford private healthcare. Worse, the government will not cover you because of its income ceiling of $42,000 annually for a four-member family to avail Medicaid.

It is this middle layer that the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) tries to cover. SCHIP has been quite successful in achieving its objectives so far, with a number of children from the above-mentioned bracket coming under its care.

In the words of Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, the program has been able to provide insurance cover to a number of children who earlier did not have any form of healthcare benefits.

However, the SCHIP program is scheduled to expire on September 30, and will not be renewed unless Congress approves the step. With the program at this crossroad, and 9 million children still outside the healthcare umbrella, there is a definite need to reauthorize the program and increase spending to ensure more children can come under its cover.

There is already a bipartisan bill in the Senate aimed at upping spending on SCHIP in its reauthorized avatar to $35 billion. The bill proposes to raise most of this money from extra taxation on tobacco products. While the concepts of reauthorization and increasing spending have been welcomed by all, it is the amount that is becoming the contentious issue now.

The Democrats want to increase the spending to $50 billion. The President, on the other hand, is willing to increase spending by only $5 billion. He has his own reasons apparently, and says he would use his veto power to counter any Democrat move to up the amount to their proposed $50 billion.

While it may seem like a case of the President Bush playing spoilsport – his $5 billion does look a pittance against the Democrats’ $50 billion – he has a valid point. He says SCHIP is designed for a specific target audience – people who cannot afford private insurance and are denied government insurance for their children because they do not come under the required category/income group.

President Bush says increasing aid to $50 billion would tempt many Americans who have the capability to avail private insurance to also jump to the government-aided program, causing the entire healthcare program to become a government-run initiative.

Critics within the Republican Party are also saying the same thing. They say the SCHIP in its current form is already benefiting people in ways that are not what SCHIP was designed to do. Adults are getting their healthcare needs from this children’s program. At least three states in America are following the trend of adults being covered by SCHIP.

Health and Human Services secretary Michael Levitt echoes this sentiment. It would be a mistake to use SCHIP as a platform for adults to be insured, and that is what increasing spending to such a large amount would lead to, he feels.

The two sides are pretty set in their notions, and it will be interesting to see who blinks first. One thing is for sure. In its current form, SCHIP, while being a great help to a large number of American children, still does not have the firepower to help the over 9 million American children currently outside the SCHIP umbrella.

The people are in favor of an expansion, as surveys conducted recently show. In fact, 91 percent of Americans want expanded spending under SCHIP, according to a survey by Center for Children and Families, Georgetown University.

Unless the politicians stop their bickering and take affirmative action, the children will continue to suffer, and distraught American families who cannot afford any of the available forms of insurance will pay a heavy price for this petty bickering.