Bush Vetoes CHIP

From FamiliesUSA.org

As he had been promising to do since early this summer, President Bush vetoed the bipartisan compromise bill that would have reauthorized CHIP. Now it's up to the House to muster the votes needed (268) to override his harmful decision. This vote could take place any time in the next few weeks.

This bill represents a historic, bipartisan compromise to reach out to the growing number of low-income, uninsured children in this country and ensure that they get access to the healthy start they deserve. The compromise bill is substantively similar to the bill the Senate passed last month with a broad, veto-proof majority.

Adds $35 billion to the program over the next five years to cover approximately 10 million children: 6.6 million children who are currently enrolled and 4 million children who will be uninsured without this bill. The majority of the new children the bill will cover are eligible for coverage today; the bill does not dramatically expand coverage.

Better allocates funding to states to cover uninsured children and helps avoid funding shortfalls that prevent children from receiving coverage.

Gives states new tools to conduct outreach to enroll eligible uninsured children.
Strengthens the CHIP benefit package by guaranteeing dental health and mental health benefits.

For more highlights of the compromise bill and how it compares to the original Senate and House bills, see Families USA's new side-by-side.
(click link in title to find out more,or to contact your representatives)


CHIPS is an insurance that has discount premiums which are paid by the insured, it is not free like Medicaid, it is a program for the working class who cannot afford, or are not offered insurance through their job, yet they do not qualify for Medicaid, because they work. Important in this debate are the arbitrary,contentious and archaic Federal Poverty Income Guidelines---rw