Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the CHAMP Act, the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act.
The CHAMP Act reauthorizes and improves the very successful State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Created in 1997 by Congress with broad bipartisan support, the SCHIP program currently covers 6 million children who otherwise would have no access to health insurance. Despite its many successes, there are still more than five million children who are eligible for SCHIP, but not yet enrolled in the program. This bill seeks to cover those vulnerable children.
Unfortunately, President Bush’s proposal seeks to turn back the clock and take us in the wrong direction. The President has proposed funding SCHIP at a rate that does not even take into account any increases for inflation or population growth. Under the President’s proposal, more than 1.5 million children will lose SCHIP coverage and many states, including Maryland, will continue to face funding shortfalls. Indeed, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has confirmed that the President’s proposal would be too little to keep covering the children who are currently enrolled in SCHIP.
In contrast to President Bush’s proposal, this bill will extend coverage to an additional 5 million children who are currently eligible for SCHIP but are not yet enrolled. I am also pleased that the bill provides for guaranteed dental coverage in SCHIP – good oral health care is integral to the health of children and no child should have to suffer because they cannot access adequate dental care. No family should have to suffer the loss of a child because they lack access to dental care, as happened in the tragic case of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old Marylander who died earlier this year when an infection from an untreated abscessed tooth spread to his brain. I am also pleased that this bill provides important mental health coverage for children.
The reauthorization and improvement of SCHIP will benefit the approximately 136,000 children who are currently enrolled in Maryland’s CHIP program and prevent Maryland from facing further funding shortfalls in its SCHIP allotment, as has been the case in recent years. The CHAMP Act will also provide essential funding to Maryland to enroll 68,000 children in families with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level who remain uninsured. It will provide Maryland with a new option to cover more than 65,000 children who are aging out of Medicaid and SCHIP. And under this bill, Maryland will have an increase in its SCHIP allotment of $99.7 million over last year, allowing it the ability to reach additional eligible but uninsured children.
Not so long ago, President Bush promised to expand coverage of SCHIP to include eligible children who are not yet enrolled. In his September 2004 speech to the Republican National Convention, the President stated – and I am quoting here, “America’s children must also have a healthy start in life. In the new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government’s health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.”
Now, the President has reversed course. In his July 10, 2007, speech in Cleveland, Ohio, he forgot his 2004 pledge and stated, “I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.”
I hope the President will reconsider his position and help Congress provide health insurance to 11 million children who are one of the most vulnerable segments of our society.
In addition to reauthorizing SCHIP, the CHAMP Act makes improvements in Medicare that will strengthen that important program. The legislation reduces overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans, which are paid, according to non-partisan CBO and other independent entities’ analyses, on average, 12 percent more than the cost of care in traditional Medicare. This will increase Medicare’s solvency by two years. In addition, the legislation prevents the impending physician reimbursement cuts and provides positive updates in 2008 and 2009. Also, the bill will increase Medicare beneficiaries’ access to preventive services by eliminating co-payments and deductibles for current and future preventive benefits and authorizing Medicare to add additional preventive services.
The CHAMP Act also increases the tobacco tax by 45 cents to a total of 84 cents. Increasing the tobacco tax will save billions in health costs and is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, especially among children. In short, raising the tobacco tax will prevent thousands of children from starting to smoke and the proceeds of the tax will be used to expand health coverage for children. That is a win-win result.
Madam Speaker, the clock is ticking. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this much needed legislation.