June’s “Project 535” Lobby Day was an informative time for our Capitol Hill volunteers, and they learned about an issue that can be confusing to many: health care.  Health insurance has been a buzzing topic for many years, and some liberals in Congress have long touted a plan for universal health care.  More recently, they have found a vehicle to expand health care coverage and are poised to wage a full-scale battle to bring all Americans under the government’s umbrella.  The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is their weapon of choice, and there are already plans in Congress to push this program as a primary method of health insurance for children and their families.  Flying subtly beneath the radar, however, are the inherent flaws within the program that must be addressed before it moves forward.

SCHIP was created in 1997 during the Clinton administration to address the problem of children without health insurance.  The program was created and authorized by Congress, but each state administers its own program within the federal guidelines.  Congress provided a block grant (essentially a blank check) of $40 billion over ten years to each of the states, to be used in providing health insurance for children who fell between Medicaid care (below or at the federal poverty level) and private health insurance.  Ten years later SCHIP faces serious questions about how our federal tax dollars are being spent.

To determine which children were in most need of help, Congress created guidelines that covered families who fall between 100 percent of the federal poverty level (the cutoff point for Medicaid) and 200 percent of the federal poverty level.  The 200 percent point is roughly $41,000 for a family of four.  Some states have taken it upon themselves, however, to reach far beyond the government regulations and insure children whose families make up to 350 percent of the poverty level (more than $72,000).  SCHIP in fourteen states is in the red, and with spending levels like these, there’s very little wonder why.

Some states have even begun to ensure adults under this children’s health insurance program.  In states like Wisconsin and Arizona, the number of insured adults exceeds the number of children.  So much for children’s health insurance.

Finally, a major issue within SCHIP is that some states may be using their grant money to provide contraception, abortion or sterilization services to children.  While the enabling legislation does stipulate that the federal government shall not pay for abortion using SCHIP dollars except in cases of rape, incest or life of the mother, it also stipulates that other state, local or private funds are not affected.  Thus, if a state deposits the federal government’s check into its proverbial account, there is theoretically no way of telling which funds are used for which purpose.  The omission of conscience protections and parental notification provisions also means that a child may receive contraception or abortion services without his or her parent’s knowledge and that a participating family may not opt out of service packages due to a moral objection toward these services.  Violating a participant’s freedom of conscience and a parent’s right to know are not principles that should be condoned using taxpayer dollars.

Families have the right to choose the best health care available for their children, but many provisions under SCHIP cut parents out of the process.  Deserving children are also going without health care because there simply is not enough funding left; states are overspending their allocated funds to insure high and medium-income families and adults.  SCHIP has long since strayed from its original mission to become a highly questionable experiment in socialized medicine at taxpayers’ expense.

ACTION: SCHIP will be reauthorized by September 30.

Call your Senators and Representatives to let them know that you’re concerned with the inadequacy of the administration of the SCHIP program.  Click here for talking points on SCHIP.

Senate Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

House Switchboard: (202) 225-3121