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Dear Friends,

Congress is about to take another step towards implementing universal government healthcare, or as it's better known, "Hillary Care," when it reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act (CHAMP) as it's called in the House.

The vote on SCHIP in the House and Senate could occur as early as next week!  Both the House and Senate versions unfortunately expand spending on the program as well as directly impact pro-family concerns.

Begun in 1997, SCHIP intends to provide health insurance for children whose families are low-income but not poor enough to qualify for the larger Medicaid program.

SCHIP is a state-federal insurance program, similar to Medicaid, that covers about 6 million children, along with about 600,000 adults. An estimated 9 million children do not have health insurance and two-thirds of these are eligible for SCHIP but aren't enrolled. 

The government has spent about $4 billion per year on SCHIP since it was created. The President has requested a $5 billion per year expansion for the next 5 years for SCHIP. The Senate Finance Committee recently passed their version of the SCHIP reauthorization plan, which includes a $35 billion increase ($60 billion over the next 5 years) and the House plan includes a $50 billion increase ($80 billion over the next five years).  Plainly stated, the liberals' goal is to boost spending on SCHIP to cover as many children and even adults in the U.S. as possible.  This expansion is an unaffordable and unmistakable step toward socialized medicine.

Aside from the fact that liberals treat SCHIP like "Christmas in July", there are several concerns with the current versions of this legislation. The liberals in the House have included language in their SCHIP (a plan for kids) that would force states to pay for "family planning services," including abortion and contraceptives. 

Representative John Dingell (D-Michigan) is also using SCHIP as a way to eliminate Title V Abstinence Education Funding.  As Chairman, he deliberately excluded it from SCHIP in a blatant attempt to force the program to expire on September 30, 2007.  Congressman Lee Terry (R-Nebraska), a longtime champion of federal abstinence education programs, will offer an amendment to reauthorize the Title V Abstinence Education program. 

In the Senate, the current bill provides for prenatal services as care for the "pregnant woman."  This is an attempt to eliminate pro-life language instituted by President Bush, which covers the "unborn child" (which makes sense for a program intended to cover children). 

Take Action Now:

Senate:  Please call your Senators at 202-224-3121 now and urge them to keep SCHIP for children as it was originally intended and to codify the unborn child regulation.

House:  Please call your Representatives at 202-225-3121 now and urge them to support Representative Terry's Amendment, to remove the family planning language and to keep SCHIP for children as it was originally intended.

Sincerely,

The Legislative Department
Concerned Women for America

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