My Accordance on the S-CHIP Bill

[Ciro Rodriguez-SAC]

S-CHIP

Health insurance is very crucial in peoples’ lives, especially the ones of our children. But each day, about 5.8 million children across the United States are uninsured due to their family making a little too much income to receive any health insurance from the government. That means, each child is living a very risky and unhealthy life: no routine check-ups, no immunizations, and unable to pay for hospitalization when needed.

On October 3, 2007, President George Bush vetoed the bill that Congress passed to “compromise legislation to reauthorize the S-CHIP program” (NCSL 1). “The State Children's Health

Insurance Program was created in 1997 to reduce the number of uninsured children by providing subsidized insurance to children of the working poor” (NY Times, S-CHIP 1). That would help the parents, who made a little too much to qualify for Medicaid, receive full health insurance for their children. The recent proposal projected of S-CHIP “enacted Title XXI of the Social Security Act and allocated about $20 billion over ten years to help states insure more children” (NCSL 1). The law also authorizes “states to provide health care coverage to “targeted low-income children” who are not eligible for Medicaid and who are uninsured. States receive an enhanced federal match and have three years to expend each year’s allotment” (NCSL 1). On October 25, after sending a revised version of the S-CHIP bill, Republicans sided with President Bush making the bill “short of a veto-proof majority” (NCSL 1). President Bush thought that providing extra funds for would be too expensive; an additional $5 billion over five years he had proposed in his budget. He thought it was ''down the path to government-run health care for every American'' (NY Times, S-CHIP 1). Although President Bush vetoed the bill to “provide health insurance to 10 million children,” Democrats weren’t defeated and will send a revised bill next month with minor changes (NY Times, Hulse 1).

Ciro Rodriquez, representative of the 23^rd district of Texas, was born in Piedras Niegras, Coahuila and raised in San Antonio. Rodriquez was a great student and received his “MSW from Our Lady of the Lake University” (Rodriquez 1). He has always had a concern for children’s needs, and he also was a great believer in “power of education”. While “launching his legislature career in the Texas State Legislature,” he began drawing “his experience as a social worker and educator to fight increase Texas high school graduation rates” (Rodriquez 1).

On October 18, 2007, Ciro Rodriquez released a statement on his vote to override the President’s veto of State Children’s Health Insurance Program. He states, “Republican leadership joined President Bush in playing partisan politics while 10 million American children wait in limbo” (Rodriquez 1). He also explains that, “this bi-partisan S-CHIP reauthorization would update the state-run health insurance program designed to be an option of last resort of millions of children of working families across the nation” (Rodriquez 1). While “the President and his partisan allies in Congress… play politics, roughly 440,000 uninsured yet CHIP eligible boys and girls in Texas will miss the next round of critical health check-up…”(Rodriquez 1). Ciro Rodriguez’s final thought assures, “the health and well-being of our children should be one of the greatest national priorities in this country. I will continue to support the update of S-CHIP and the coverage of 10 million children nationwide” (Rodriquez 1).

Works Cited

"State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP)." The New York Times 26 Sept. 2007. 5 Nov. 2007 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/stat....

Pear, Robert, and Sheryl G. Stolberg. "House Fails to Override Child Health Bill Veto." The New York Times 18 Oct. 2007. 6 Nov. 2007.

United States. Cong. House. Rep. Rodriguez Statement on Today's SCHIP Override Vote. 23rd Cong. S-CHIP. 18 Oct. 2007. 5 Oct.-Nov. 2007. <http://www.rodriguez.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=193>.

United States. Cong. National Conference of State Legislatures. State Children's Health Insurance Program. <http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/chiphome.htm>.

[Tramell Tennyson]

This is a very critical issue, the healthcare of our future should be insured at all costs. Our government has been spending too much money on other things for too long. It is time to focus on the children. 440,000 uninsured children in Texas, I didn't know it was that much.

[Michelle Garcia]

I do believe that all children in poverty or in need of healthcare should be provided schip. It is important for all children to have healthcare, with children you never know what to expect, from accidents to sicknessess, they do need to be covered at all times. This is an issue that needs to be resolved.

[Teresa Sorola]

As a mother of a child who is on the SCHIP program, I understand how important it is for my child to have health insurance. I think that ALL children should be so lucky to have health insurance and it is definitely a issue that has to be fixed.

[hconklin]

Representative Rodrigues, it is reassuring to hear you say that children need to be looked after =- regardless of their parent's financial situation. In the US, we need to present a unified, caring example if we are to improve. Your experience as a social worker should surely come in handy in these days. Your concern regarding having children in limbo is genuine and appreciated, but beyond that - paying for their care and maintaining their health - I wonder if you have this mapped out. You are in a position to help many. You will need not only money, but more people to join you in this huge effort.

[Alana Baron]

Health care is something we all need. In young children it is very important because they are more likely to be less imune to some sicknesses. We should elect a candidate who is concerned about the children's health and is willing to improve it.