Smith Calls for Responsible Children's Health Insurance Program

Press Release

Smith Calls for Responsible Children's Health Insurance Program

"SCHIP should serve low-income children and should not force children out of private health insurance. The plan passed today shifts the focus from poor children without health insurance to adults and families who already have personal coverage. This was never the intention of the program. With this vote, rather, we're greatly expanding the reach of government and are using irresponsible taxes to pay for it.

"I have serious concerns over the fact we are relying on a 61-cent cigarette tax increase to pay for this expansion - it is a regressive tax and a declining source of revenue. Congress is backing itself into a corner with this type of funding," Smith said.

The bill contains a funding "cliff" - a 66 percent reduction in funding in the authorization's final year which was included to lower the expected cost of the program. If this shortfall were to happen, 80 percent of children on SCHIP would be forced out of the program in five years.

The bill also contains language weakening the citizenship verification process through a birth certificate or other documentation, relying instead on a match of applicants' names and Social Security numbers.

"By pushing through a bill reauthorizing a program fully funded through March, and by using funding gimmicks to hide the true costs of this massive expansion, Congress is putting our nation's financial future further in jeopardy," Smith said.

Smith is a cosponsor of an alternative piece of legislation which reauthorizes SCHIP covering children up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill also provides $100 million annually for outreach to eligible children and provides greater flexibility to states when using their SCHIP funding.

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