FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Isakson, Chambliss Back Alternative Proposals to Expand Children’s Healthcare Program with Focus on Low-Income Children  

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today announced their support for two alternative proposals to steer a children’s healthcare program back toward its original intent of providing health insurance to low-income children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but do not make enough to purchase private health insurance.

President Bush has vowed to veto a massive $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as SCHIP, that would shift a program intended for low-income children toward a government-run healthcare system for children and adults funded by a regressive tax increase. The Senate approved the legislation today by a vote of 67 to 29. Both Isakson and Chambliss voted against that proposal.

“As the years have gone by, some states have chosen to enroll adults without children in their SCHIP programs, the result of which has compromised this program and taken money that was intended to go to children and sent it to adults. This is the absolute wrong way to improve this program,” Isakson said. “SCHIP has proven to be a success in Georgia and across all 50 states, and I would like to see that the program remains true to its original intent – healthcare access for underprivileged children.”

“SCHIP is a children’s health insurance program and Georgia taxpayers should not foot the bill for states that are using their funds to cover adults,” said Chambliss.  “The program should be expanded to ensure coverage for low-income children, and as policymakers we must make certain that this is done in a responsible way, without creating Washington-run health care and without raising taxes.”    

Some states enroll adults with no children in their SCHIP programs, and under the bill passed by the Senate, states would be allowed to increase the number of adults allowed to participate in SCHIP programs. Georgia’s PeachCare program does not provide coverage for adults.

Isakson and Chambliss support an alternative proposal by U.S. Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.) that would expand SCHIP by $9.5 billion over the next five years, phase out non-pregnant adults from the program, prevent the addition of any new non-pregnant adults to the program, provide additional funds to target low-income children and encourage the use of premium assistance. It would have been offset by reducing federal reimbursements for administrative expenses in the program and by health insurance proposals in the bill, including a proposal to allow small businesses to band together across state lines to offer health insurance plans.

Isakson and Chambliss are also co-sponsoring another alternative proposal to reauthorize and fully fund the existing SCHIP program for an additional 18 months. The SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 would increase the level of federal funding available in order to ensure that every state’s SCHIP program would be fully funded during this reauthorization period.  The bill would provide $6.5 billion for fiscal year 2008 and $3.6 billion for the first six months of fiscal year 2009. Isakson and Chambliss believe the extension would allow Congress time to steer the SCHIP program back to its original intent of access to healthcare for low-income children while giving the states a significant funding commitment in order to make sound decisions regarding the future of their programs   

###