CHIP was created in a notable and rare bipartisan fashion in 1997 and stands out as a resounding success among the mountain of health care reform efforts that have been put forth over the past decade. Jointly funded by the federal and state governments, the program is credited with a 36 percent drop in the number of uninsured children nationwide. In Utah, more than 112,000 children have benefited from CHIP.
All children in America should have health care coverage. Together, SCHIP and Medicaid have been hugely successful, providing high-quality health care to children in Utah who otherwise would not have had coverage. Congress must move forward and reauthorize CHIP so every child in Utah can get the coverage they need.
As Congress negotiates a new CHIP bill the question is whether they can come together in the spirit of bipartisanship from a decade ago. Sen. Orrin Hatch led the effort back then and is in a position to defend and expand the program over the coming months.
Expected federal funding is $25 billion over the next five years. Current state programs already outstrip that funding. An additional $50 billion would allow states to expand programs and reduce the number of uninsured American children. A total of $75 billion over five years is a lot of money, but to put it in perspective, the 2003 Congress approved a Medicare drug benefit that will cost about $1 trillion over 10 years. That's just for drugs for seniors. The country should spend at least a fraction of that on children.
Health insurance has become unaffordable for too many and for some it is simply not available. But because of CHIP, children in our state have still been able to get health care, saving huge costs to the state and taxpayers by reducing uncompensated-care costs in emergency rooms and other health facilities.
There are nearly 90,000 uninsured children in Utah, and a total of 9 million uninsured kids nationwide, most of whom are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid but not yet enrolled. The vast majority of these children have parents who work but still lack access to affordable health coverage. Utah has made progress filling that gap, but like states around the country we need adequate, stable and predictable funding in order to continue getting uninsured children covered.
The news media rarely report on what's going well with health insurance in the United States. Frankly, there isn't much good to report. But there is one bright spot - coverage of children. Congress did something right when it created the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997 to provide insurance to children in low- and moderate-income families.
Children with insurance coverage are healthier, do better in school and have a better chance to succeed. We must move forward to reduce the number of uninsured children.
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* KAREN CROMPTON is executive director of Voices for Utah Children in Salt Lake City.
