• Background: SCHIP gives health care to uninsured children from poorer middle income families since 1997
• Debate: No socialized health care v. Preventative care saves money
• Country Comparison: Universal health care is a standard in all wealthy countries
• Recent Legislation: 2007 House bill to extend SCHIP. Vetoed by Bush.

Background

• Created in 1997, the State Children�s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is federal-state partnership program that provides health insurance to children of families whose income is above the cutoff point to qualify for Medicaid benefits but cannot afford to buy private health insurance. The program was created in title XXI of the Social Security Act in response to the growing number of children without health insurance.
• The federal government provides funding for SCHIP and sets guidelines for state programs. Individual states are given the freedom to design and administer their programs according to their needs. Some states combine SCHIP with Medicaid, some use SCHIP to explain Medicaid, and others keep the two programs separate.
• In August 2007, the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services arbitrarily imposed new rules that blocked states from expanding their children�s health insurance programs. 8 states filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration (New York, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, Arizona, California and New Hampshire) in October. Shortly after, President Bush vetoed a Congressional bill that would have rolled back these changes.

Debate

• The government should not create a system of nationalize health insurance. Private insurers and insurance markets are more efficient when it comes to providing affordable health insurance for Americans.
• The number of uninsured children is rising as well as the number of total uninsured Americans. A 2007 study from researchers at Brigham Young University and Arizona State University found that SCHIP is important for saving money in the long-term. It concluded that children who drop out of SCHIP ultimately cost states more money because they use emergency care more frequently than routine care.

Country Comparison

• The United States is the only affluent country that does not ensure all citizens are provided with health care.
• Infant mortality rate in the United States is on par with Eastern European countries. UNICEF ranked the U.S. 20th in its survey of children health and wellbeing in February 2007 (Source: BBC News).

Recent Legislation

• In the Oct. 2007, the House passed H.R.976an act that would amend title XXI of the Social Security Act extend SCHIP to cover over 4 million more children by 2012 and cost an extra $35 billion. It would also eliminate most state expansions that gives coverage to adults other than pregnant women and increased the minimum income eligibility requirement from 200% to 300% above the federal poverty wage. The expansion proposal would have been funded by an increase in cigarette and cigar taxes that would be over 100% of the existing federal taxes.
• On 3 October 2007, President Bush vetoed this bill saying it was a step towards nationalized health care and that covered more people than originally intended. He promised to work with Congress on a compromise plan.