At one of the many briefings, congressional hearings and non-profit forums held this month in Washington on the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) spoke for many when he called SCHIP, "the biggest healthcare issue of the year."
According to Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Healthcare, 6.1 million children are currently enrolled in SCHIP and the Congressional Research Service, along with other independent experts, have estimated a needed $15 billion over the next five years to fund the program.
President Bush's proposal of $5 billion proposes one-third of what is needed, Rockefeller said at a Feb. 9 briefing hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Commission.
Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, also at the Feb. 9 briefing, said that for the one in four American children dependant on Medicaid and SCHIP for their health insurance coverage, that coverage makes a real difference in their lives. But unfortunately, SCHIP spending has exceeded the federal allotment since 2002. "We're living on borrowed time," Rowland said.
Many states are already facing the prospect of exceeding their federal allotments in fiscal year 2007, and 37 states are expecting to see a shortfall in 2007, Rowland said.
At a Feb. 14 hearing hosted by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health hearing, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said now is the time to reauthorize SCHIP and build on its success. "Many may question whether we can afford to do so, however, the real question is can our nation afford not to do it," Dingell said.
At that same hearing, Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee said that 9 million children in this country still don't have health insurance. He called the situation a national disgrace. "In a country as wealthy and compassionate as ours, no child should be left behind without health insurance, let alone nine million," Pallone said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Leslie Norwalk defended the president this month, assuring that his plans for SCHIP would reauthorize the program at a sustainable rate.
Without congressional action, SCHIP will expire on September 30. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who helped write and pass SCHIP in 1997, said he shares in the president's concerns to balance the budget, but not at the expense of children's healthcare. "Renewing and expanding (S)CHIP is my top health care priority this year and I'm going to fight tooth and nail to get it done," Baucus said at a Feb. 7 congressional hearing.
Rockefeller acknowledged that money is tight. "It's going to be a very, very tough year and it's going to be very tough to get this done," Rockefeller said. "We no longer think universally; we think incrementally, which is sad, but we are where we are, so we do what we can do so SCHIP will march forward."