Letter to the Editor: SCHIP Bill Accomplishes Biggert's Goals

Statement

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: SCHIP Bill Accomplishes Biggert's Goals

Printed in the Chicago Tribune

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) argued ("SCHIP should be for children -- not adults," Voice of the people, Oct. 11) that she wants two things: to remove parents from the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and to work in a bipartisan fashion. I agree but the bill she opposes does both of those things -- it removes parents from the CHIP program and was accomplished through bipartisan cooperation.

Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate supported the CHIP bill. There are few more vocal supporters than Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who are among the 62 Republicans in the House and Senate who voted for the bill.

The bipartisan agreement that Congresswoman Biggert opposes returns the CHIP program to its roots -- providing health insurance coverage for low-income kids. Currently, 14 states cover adults because the Bush administration gave them permission or waivers to do so. This bill eliminates that waiver system. As Biggert points out, because of those waivers, Illinois would spend more money on adults than children in the first year. What she doesn't point out is that the bill provides a three-year transition period that removes all adults from the CHIP program.

We must phase out adult coverage in a smart, responsible way. Cutting off all adults in the first year means 130,000 adults could be removed from the program with no other options. It also means Illinois could lose $244 million in funding next year.

As we worked out this bipartisan compromise, we took the steps necessary to decrease the likelihood of individuals switching from private insurance to CHIP. Congressional Budget Office estimates show that this bill successfully accomplishes this goal. In fact, the American Health Insurance Plans, a national trade organization representing 1,300 private health insurance companies, recently announced its support for this bill.

I am disappointed that Biggert raised the emotional argument that this new program would insure undocumented children. The bill expressly prohibits coverage of these children.

Most important, this bill accomplishes its goals in a fiscally responsible way. It doesn't add to the national debt but instead pays for the program through a tax on cigarettes -- a decision two out of three Americans support. Unfortunately, more than enough cigarettes are sold in this country to pay for CHIP's expansion -- and we wouldn't need a single new smoker to foot the bill.

Biggert says that she "would like nothing better than to vote for a good SCHIP bill." On Thursday, she will have the chance to do just that. I hope that all of the members of the Illinois congressional delegation who voted 'no' -- Reps. Biggert, Peter Roskam, Jerry Weller, Dennis Hastert, Tim Johnson, Don Manzullo and John Shimkus -- will carefully study this bipartisan bill and vote to give 150,000 more needy Illinois children the health insurance they need by overriding the president's veto.

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