Coburn: SCHIP Debate About Politicians, Not Kids

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), a practicing physician, released the following statement today after voting against a bill, H.R. 3963, that fails to insure poor children first.

“This vote shows that the S-CHIP debate is about the politicians, not the kids. Congress could have easily sent President Bush a compromise bill he would have signed. Unfortunately, too many politicians seem to be concerned that settling this dispute will contradict 30-second attack ads that depict one party as being on a mission to take health care away from children. What Washington politicians don’t understand is that building a political war room underneath uninsured children harms the integrity of Congress more than either party. We were elected to solve problems, not use difficult issues to raise campaign funds,” said Dr. Coburn, a practicing physician who provides free health care to children and other citizens in his hometown of Muskogee.

“In recent weeks, Congress’ actions in this debate have revealed its true motives. Last week, the House rushed through a ‘new and improved’ S-CHIP bill that insured 400,000 fewer kids at an additional cost of $500 million. In the previous week, I invited my colleagues to prioritize securing health insurance for kids ahead of funding for their own special interest pork-barrel projects. According to the Washington Post, the final tally was ‘Pet Projects 68, Kids 26,’” Dr. Coburn said.

“Instead of setting aside money for pork in a reserve fund that could be used for something more important, like health insurance for children, the Senate went ahead and protected, among hundreds of projects, $130,000 for the National First Ladies’ Library in Ohio, $500,000 for a ‘Virtual Herbarium’ in New York and $50,000 for an ice center in Utah. Are we to believe the uninsured would rather go ice skating or tour a First Ladies’ Library than have health care?” Dr. Coburn asked.

“Today, the Senate refused to even debate an amendment I offered that would have redirected funding for all congressional earmarks funded through the Department of Health and Human Services into the S-CHIP program,” Dr. Coburn said, adding that in the state of Iowa, the cost of earmarks in the Labor-HHS-Education bill – $157.4 million – could buy health insurance for each of the state’s 43,783 uninsured kids.

“I will support a bill that will expand coverage for poor children. However, if Congress wants to fundamentally change and expand the nature of S-CHIP, we need to be honest with the American people. To pay for this bill, we’d need to recruit 22 million new smokers at a time when we’re debating how to decrease the number of smokers in America. We are also proposing in this bill to spend $4,000 of taxpayer funds to pay for $2,300 worth of care,” Dr. Coburn said.

Dr. Coburn has proposed providing every American family a $5,000 tax credit to purchase the health insurance of their choice within his comprehensive health care reform bill, “The Universal Health Care Choice and Access Act,” S. 1019. The bill lets individuals, not government bureaucracies, take charge of their own health care dollars and decisions.

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Fallin Issues New SCHIP Statement

The House passed a revamped version of legislation that would increase the State Children’s Health Care Program (SCHIP), but the bipartisan majority supporting the measure failed to attract enough support to override a certain presidential veto.

Before the vote was taken, Congresswoman Mary Fallin, R-5th District, said today she supports the federal health plan for children "as it was originally intended," but made it clear she wants a new plan to "focus on children in low income families." Her statement came as the House was preparing to take up a new SCHIP proposal orchestrated by House Democrats.

Fallin said, “I support SCHIP as it was originally intended, as a government funded healthcare program for low income children. I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t agree with the basic premise that poor children should have access to quality medical care.

“In a letter that I and other freshmen members sent to Speaker Pelosi, we made it clear that we are interested in pursuing a bipartisan SCHIP compromise. Republicans and Democrats agree that poor children need government funded health insurance. The conflict now is whether or not the federal government should expand the program to cover middle class children, millions of adults, and even some illegal aliens, when so many poor children continue to go without healthcare.

“Our letter, among other things, asks the Speaker to focus on children in low income families. In Oklahoma, there are 77,000 poor children without health insurance. Any bipartisan compromise should be built around legislation that puts children like these first.

“Unfortunately, the latest SCHIP proposal continues to fall short of that goal. By undermining policies designed to place poor children first, it sends the wrong message to the nation’s most needy children, especially when it continues to fund children in families making over $60,000 a year, adults, and some illegal immigrants.

“At the end of the day, it is my hope that members of both parties will work out a compromise that is both compassionate and responsible, one that focuses first and foremost on children in low income families.”

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House Fails To Override Bush SCHIP Veto; Boren Voted To Override, 4 Republicans Voted Against

UPDATED 4:13 PM ~ With Congressman Dan Boren, D-2nd District, voting for and the state's four Republican congressmen voting against, the U. S. House failed today to override President Bush’s veto of legislation that would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). For the past two weeks, Democratic leaders had hoped that they would be able to convince enough Republicans to reach the 289-vote threshold needed to override the veto. However, the Democrats fell short when the GOP opposition to the bill did not crack.

Following the House vote, Senator Jim Inhofe said he has joined other senators in sponsoring a new SCHIP measure: “Congressional Democrats have been playing politics with their SCHIP re-authorization bill, using it as a vehicle to advance their long-standing agenda of socializing healthcare and creating a new middle-class entitlement. Congress needs to pass a reauthorization of SCHIP that maintains the original intent of the program by providing health insurance for the millions of uninsured, low-income children across the country, not middle-class adults. Our legislation is supported in both the House and the Senate, and gives Congress a viable alternative to reauthorize this important program quickly, without unnecessary government-run healthcare expansions.”

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Muskogee Phoenix: For SCHIP

Muskogee Phoenix Editorial ~ Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., says he will change his vote on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

And well he should.

Boren voted last month against the measure that proposes to expand health insurance to children by adding $35 billion to its cost over the next five years. The vote in the House approved the increase, but the House did not have enough votes to override a presidential veto.
President Bush did just that. He vetoed the bill this month.

Bush contends an expansion would encourage people to drop private health insurance coverage for government coverage, leading to socialized medicine.

If it’s socialized medicine were coming to, then let’s admit where the blame lies.
Bush, like presidents before him, has done little to improve accessibility to health care services or insurance coverage for U.S. citizens.

This session of Congress, like sessions before it, has failed to address health care reform.
Then don’t forget America’s health care industry and insurance companies are more concerned with profits than making health care affordable for all.

And lastly, Americans are to blame, too. We are, more than ever, overweight, less physically active and better at eating unhealthy foods.

Our country simply has to address health care in a comprehensive way. Political experts say chances are good after the 2008 election that we will.

Perhaps, we can wait that long. In the meantime, it’s unconscionable that many children do not receive proper health care because their parents can’t afford regular examinations or services they need.

When the Phoenix called Boren’s office right after his no vote, a spokeswoman said that Boren received many calls from eastern Oklahomans against the SCHIP increase because it meant an increase in the cigarette tax to pay for it. Boren said in a press release he opposed the expansion partly because it relied on a dwindling revenue source, cigarette sales.

Fewer people may be smoking, but cigarette sales are not exactly dwindling. The irony, of course, is that we are counting on taxes on things that are unhealthy to fund good health, when we should be reducing costs so that the average American can simply pay for the health care he or she needs, whether it’s for a visit to the doctor or coverage for a catastrophic illness.

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Jones Rips SCHIP Protesters

Republican State Chairman Gary Jones is out with a blast at those protesting oppostion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Jones said that last week, there "was a small rally...held in front of Rep. Mary Fallin’s office. Nathaniel Batchelder, speaking for the groups behind the rally, said, 'we need Rep. Fallin to override Bush’s veto and stand up for our kids.'It seems like everyone’s motto these days is ]it’s about the kids.'

"If this SCHIP program were really about our kids’ future, however, we wouldn’t expand government spending and put our children further in debt. As Congresswoman Fallin put it: 'I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t agree with the basic premise that poor children should have access to quality medical care… the conflict is over how great an expansion of SCHIP the federal government can responsibly sustain.'

"The real facts back up Fallin’s stance: The proposed SCHIP expansion would allow and strongly encourage states to provide government health coverage for children in families making 300% of the Federal poverty level, or almost $62,000 for a family of four. Furthermore, Congress' bill would enable SCHIP to cover children in some households with incomes of up to 400% of the Federal poverty level (about $83,000 per year).

Of the 5.8 million enrollees Congress' legislation would attract by 2012, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that 2.0 million would drop private insurance to enroll, moving us closer to a nanny-state government that Democrats envision.

Democrats would like to point the finger at Republicans and make the outlandish claim that we are against children if we don't support this bill. Unfortunately for Democrats, the facts just aren’t on their side."

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