Mt. Pleasant Daily Tribune - Cornyn Supports Alternative Bill on Health Care

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Mt. Pleasant Daily Tribune - Cornyn Supports Alternative Bill on Health Care

Ashley Tompkins

Days after President Bush vetoed the State Children's Health Insurance Program, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has lent his support to a new bill, Kids First, which will provide coverage for an additional 200,000 Texas children. The bill would offer a $10 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), versus the $35 billion increase included in the Democratic bill.

Cornyn, who had supported reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP since it first went before the Senate in July, said Kids First accomplishes SCHIP's original intent n to provide health care coverage to children in working poor families. He is listed as a bill co-sponsor.

"I strongly support the reauthorization and expansion of the SCHIP program," Cornyn said. "It is an important way to help provide health care for children from working poor families in Texas who need it. Our focus must be on covering low-income children first n the original intent of the program."

The senator called Kids First a "responsible alternative" to the Democratic SCHIP bill passed by both the Senate and House and then vetoed by President Bush on Wednesday. The vetoed bill would have provided $35 billion in additional spending over five years and the opportunity for four million children to join the program.

Kids First provides coverage for an additional 200,000 Texas children and fully funds projections made by the Texas Legislature. Texas ranks first in the nation for the number of uninsured children.

Texas' bill, passed during the 80th Legislative Session, restored coverage to 12 months and allowed more than 100,000 additional children in the program.

Program projections set by the Texas Legislature would be financed 50 percent under the Kids First bill. Roughly 700,000 Texas children are currently eligible but not enrolled in either SCHIP or Medicaid.

With Kids First in place for five years, Texas would have at a minimum $200 million in unspent federal matching funds available after fiscal year 2012, Cornyn said, adding the bill funds 1.3 million children who would not be covered if funding were to stay as it is currently.

"The Democratic bill balloons SCHIP by more than 140 percent to potentially include adults and children in families up to 400 percent of the poverty level," he noted. "Their proposal would penalize states such as Texas that adhere to the original intent of the program."

Cornyn was not the only Texan who voted against the program expansion. District 4 U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall last week said he voted against the SCHIP expansion and supported Bush's veto because the bill went beyond its original aim.

"I voted against the proposed S-CHIP reform bill last week n not because I do not support expanding health care coverage for our Nation's poor children n but because this bill goes far beyond its original and noble goal," Hall said.

Hall said the new legislation, as written, would have resulted in illegal aliens being covered in the program and expanded the number of eligible adults, rather than helping children without health insurance.

It is not clear if the representative will support the Kids First bill.

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