This year marks the 10th anniversary of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, a successful, bipartisan, federal-state collaboration that has significantly improved our nation's health coverage.
Primarily because of SCHIP, the rate of uninsured children went down by one-third between the years of 1997 and 2005. Unless Congress acts, the program will lapse at the end of September.
Today, over 6 million children nationally benefit from SCHIP; in 2006, Utah averaged 35,000 children enrolled in the program. These are children whose parents work but can't get or can't afford health insurance.
Utah stopped enrolling kids in SCHIP from last September until July of this year, even though an estimated 24,600 children were eligible, based on their age and family incomes, due to a lack of funding by the Utah Legislature. SCHIP is funded by the state and federal governments. Utah receives four federal dollars for each state dollar.
SCHIP families also contribute through co-pays and premiums and they are enrolled in private plans.
Caring for children is always the right thing to do. But there are practical reasons as well.
Health coverage prevents the cost of essential health care from bankrupting individuals and families. We all know of at least one Utah family whose financial situation has been jeopardized by unexpected medical bills.
Children who have health insurance - and thus, improved access to care - have a better quality of life. Numerous studies prove this is the case. One study found that uninsured children were significantly less likely to visit the doctor for conditions like acute earaches, recurrent asthma or other conditions where medical attention is needed.
A recent tragic case involving dental health care saw two young boys die from complications related to tooth infections. Studies prove that covering a $50-$75 preventive visit to the dentist can prevent a $1,500 trip to the emergency room to deal with an abscess.
The cost of unmet health needs among children goes beyond the cost of a hospital stay. In 2004 asthma alone accounted for an estimated 14 million lost school days among children. Not surprisingly, experts suggest that poor child health now could be the major cost driver in Medicare in the future. One common-sense example is the increase in childhood obesity and the link to diabetes. Money spent on children's health at the front end saves money in the long run - money not needed for disability and loss of productivity in the workforce.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on which I serve will send legislation to the full House this week that commits nearly $50 billion to reauthorize SCHIP. It will be paid for primarily by increasing the tax on cigarettes. That's a win-win: Raising the price of cigarettes discourages kids from buying them. The revenue helps pays for health insurance for children who may suffer from - among other things - the ill effects of second-hand smoke.
The proposed House bill goes much further to cover children than its counterpart in the U.S. Senate. The House bill protects existing SCHIP coverage for 6 million kids and covers an additional 5 million, requires mental health and dental benefits and ensures that the states have the tools and flexibility to reach uninsured children who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, the program.
It also provides that Utah has the option to extend SCHIP coverage to pregnant women.
Despite overwhelming bipartisan support, the president is threatening to veto the reauthorization of SCHIP. That's a tragedy.
Instead of partisanship, the debate we should be having about SCHIP is how to take a successful program and make it better.
---
* CONGRESSMAN JIM MATHESON is a Democrat representing Utah's 2nd Congressional District.
