Save the Children’s Insurance. Hillary Clinton and Bill Frist
Hillary Clinton and Bill Frist on Health Care for America’s Kids
NO child in America should be denied the chance to see a doctor when he or she needs one — but if Congress doesn’t act soon, that’s exactly what might happen.
For the past 18 years, the Children’s Health Insurance Program has provided much-needed coverage to millions of American children. And yet, despite strong bipartisan support, we are concerned that gridlock in Washington and unrelated disputes over the Affordable Care Act could prevent an extension of the program. As parents, grandparents and former legislators, we believe that partisan politics should never stand between our kids and quality health care.
We may be from different political parties, but both of us have dedicated our careers to supporting the health of children and their families. This shared commitment inspired us to work together in the late 1990s to help create CHIP to address the needs of the two million children whose families make too much money to be covered by Medicaid, but cannot afford private insurance.
The resulting program, a compromise between Republicans and Democrats, disburses money to the states but gives them flexibility to tailor how they provide coverage to meet the needs of their own children and families. Some expanded Medicaid; others created separate programs. As a result, the number of uninsured children in America has dropped by half. Children miss less school because of illness or injury, and we’ve seen a significant decline in childhood mortality.
Today, state governments continue to rely on the program to meet crucial health and budget priorities. It’s not surprising that every single governor who responded to a 2014 survey — 39 in all — supported saving CHIP.
Of course, the American health care landscape has changed significantly since CHIP started. Under the Affordable Care Act, many families with children are now receiving financial help to enroll in private health coverage through the new health insurance marketplace. But while it is possible that private, family-wide policies offered by employers and marketplaces may one day render CHIP unnecessary, for now substantial gaps still exist — and too many children can still fall through them.
One specific provision of the Affordable Care Act, often called the “family glitch,” has been interpreted to prevent many families from receiving subsidized health coverage in the new marketplace if one parent is offered “affordable coverage” through his or her job. In this case, “affordable” is defined as less than roughly 9.5 percent of household income for that parent to sign up alone — even though the actual cost of available family coverage is far higher. For families affected by this glitch, CHIP may be the only affordable option for making sure their children are covered. . .
As 2015 unfolds, we know Congress will continue to debate the future of health care reform. We most likely won’t see eye to eye about some of the more contentious questions. But one thing everyone should be able to agree on is that our most vulnerable children shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about our kids and our nation’s future. What could be more important than that?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/opinion/hillary-clinton-and-bill-frist-on-health-care-for-americas-kids.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region®ion=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region
(here we go!)
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