By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-12-25 13:01:50 | Word Count: 670
We all have dreams this holiday season. Dreams of the family gathered around a sparkling tree. Children delighted with brightly wrapped presents.
But wouldn't it be magical to wake up Christmas morning knowing that no child in America will have to suffer because their family can't afford to take them to the doctor or get their antibiotics or immunizations?
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Yes, dolls, toy trucks and video games are nice, but health care is necessary. The best gift we can give our children this year is the security of knowing that their health is a priority for us. As Congress debates health care reform, now is the time to urge Congress to deliver on its promise to reform our health care system -- in a way that provides a strong individual guarantee of affordable coverageChildren in Michigan and across the country have a lot at stake in health reform. The proportion of Michigan children without health insurance rose nearly 32 percent from 2006 to 2007. There was a nearly 70 percent increase in the loss of insurance coverage for ages 0-5. Those numbers are expected to continue rising.
In addition, private coverage continues to be out of reach for many children, including many kids whose parents are losing their jobs and their employer-provided health insurance. This makes the need for health reform vital for Michigan families, who have historically experienced higher than average rates of employer-sponsored coverage (62 percent in 2007) and currently have the highest rate of unemployment in the nation.
The focus of debate on health care reform has been on the role of a public option rather than other important issues, like how we ensure that children are not worse off as a result of reform.
Ensuring that all children are insured and receive affordable, high-quality care that helps them to grow and thrive is a must.
Although the House reform legislation has many strong provisions supporting children and families, it calls for the abolishment of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 2013. It would be replaced by a far more expensive new health-insurance exchange, largely driven by insurance companies. We cannot allow this to happen.
CHIP, known as MIChild in Michigan, has been critical to filling the gap and providing coverage for the children of working poor -- families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. CHIP has sharply reduced the number of uninsured children.
A recent actuarial study released by the national children's advocacy group First Focus revealed that CHIP is significantly better for low-income families than any health reform proposal pending in Congress. The study found that families with children now enrolled in CHIP will face higher costs if they are moved into an Exchange.
The Congressional Budget Office also concluded that maintaining the CHIP program would be roughly $15 billion cheaper than eliminating the program and moving the children into the new Exchange.
The Senate version maintains CHIP through 2019. Thanks to an amendment from Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., funding would be provided to continue CHIP and a report required in 2016 to determine how children will fare in the exchange and what changes would be needed for children to have comparable, if not better, coverage and benefits before moving kids from a proven program into an untested system. This is the best option.
Throughout this debate we must remember that there are 160,000 children in Michigan without health insurance. Reform must include coverage for these children. It also must ensure that children currently covered continue to have coverage. And it cannot allow children to be worse off tomorrow than they are today.
