February 11, 2009 4:30 PM
- Text
Governors Up Pressure On Kids Health Bill
(CBS/AP)
The nation's governors stepped up pressure on the Bush administration Sunday to boost federal spending on a health insurance program serving low-income children.
During its annual meeting, the National Governors Association reaffirmed support for expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program while declining to endorse a specific funding amount.
"The governors have been very firm that SCHIP is their No. 1 health care priority at the federal level," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, wrapping up her term as chairwoman of the organization.
The program subsidizes insurance for children and some adults with incomes too high for Medicaid but not high enough to afford private insurance.
The Senate Finance Committee last week approved a five-year, $35 billion expansion, to be paid for with a 61-cents-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.
Supporters said that would allow 6.6 million people to maintain their existing health coverage while adding 3.2 million uninsured children to the program.
House Democrats are expected to seek a $50 billion increase, financed by cutting payments to insurers that administer managed care plans under the Medicare program for seniors.
The American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society support the increase.
But the Bush administration, which has consistently referred to SCHIP as government-run health care, says billions of dollars in insurance costs will be shifted from the private sector to the federal government under the Senate proposal.
President Bush told an audience in Nashville last week that the Senate bill is "the beginning salvo of the encroachment of the federal government on the health care system."
Mr. Bush has threatened a veto, saying the program should grow only by $5 billion.
The SCHIP program will expire Sept. 30 if Congress and the White House can't agree on terms for continuing it.
In letters to Mr. Bush and congressional leaders, the governors urged them to settle the matter without a series of stopgap extensions. They praised the Senate bill's preference for giving state governments flexibility in running the program instead of strict mandates.
"Gridlock, no answer, is the worst answer," New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said during a panel discussion at the governors meeting. Continuing the program without adequate federal funding would be "disastrous" for state budgets, he said.
A variety of groups — seniors, doctors, unions, family advocates and pharmaceutical companies — are lobbying for the Senate or a competing House bill, and are working to help create a veto-proof majority.
AARP and the American Medical Association plan to make it uncomfortable for Republican lawmakers to agree with the administration's position. On Friday, the two organizations announced a lobbying campaign that they said will likely exceed $2 million.
They back the House legislation for two reasons: It would expand health insurance to more children and eliminate a 10 percent cut in reimbursement rates for doctors who see Medicare patients. The cut would kick in Jan. 1, unless Congress intervenes.
The House legislation would pay for those changes by increasing tobacco taxes and lowering payments to insurers who administer health plans for Medicare beneficiaries. The two groups say the insurance companies are overpaid.
During its annual meeting, the National Governors Association reaffirmed support for expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program while declining to endorse a specific funding amount.
"The governors have been very firm that SCHIP is their No. 1 health care priority at the federal level," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, wrapping up her term as chairwoman of the organization.
The program subsidizes insurance for children and some adults with incomes too high for Medicaid but not high enough to afford private insurance.
The Senate Finance Committee last week approved a five-year, $35 billion expansion, to be paid for with a 61-cents-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.
Supporters said that would allow 6.6 million people to maintain their existing health coverage while adding 3.2 million uninsured children to the program.
House Democrats are expected to seek a $50 billion increase, financed by cutting payments to insurers that administer managed care plans under the Medicare program for seniors.
The American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society support the increase.
But the Bush administration, which has consistently referred to SCHIP as government-run health care, says billions of dollars in insurance costs will be shifted from the private sector to the federal government under the Senate proposal.
President Bush told an audience in Nashville last week that the Senate bill is "the beginning salvo of the encroachment of the federal government on the health care system."
Mr. Bush has threatened a veto, saying the program should grow only by $5 billion.
The SCHIP program will expire Sept. 30 if Congress and the White House can't agree on terms for continuing it.
In letters to Mr. Bush and congressional leaders, the governors urged them to settle the matter without a series of stopgap extensions. They praised the Senate bill's preference for giving state governments flexibility in running the program instead of strict mandates.
"Gridlock, no answer, is the worst answer," New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said during a panel discussion at the governors meeting. Continuing the program without adequate federal funding would be "disastrous" for state budgets, he said.
A variety of groups — seniors, doctors, unions, family advocates and pharmaceutical companies — are lobbying for the Senate or a competing House bill, and are working to help create a veto-proof majority.
AARP and the American Medical Association plan to make it uncomfortable for Republican lawmakers to agree with the administration's position. On Friday, the two organizations announced a lobbying campaign that they said will likely exceed $2 million.
They back the House legislation for two reasons: It would expand health insurance to more children and eliminate a 10 percent cut in reimbursement rates for doctors who see Medicare patients. The cut would kick in Jan. 1, unless Congress intervenes.
The House legislation would pay for those changes by increasing tobacco taxes and lowering payments to insurers who administer health plans for Medicare beneficiaries. The two groups say the insurance companies are overpaid.
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