Immoral Lack Of Care

Casey Aden-Wansbury

March 02, 2007

Casey Aden-Wansbury is the Director of Communications at the Children's Defense Fund .

Janneth, 16 , Brenda, 13, and Guadalupe, nine—three sisters, who live just outside San Francisco—all have severe medical conditions. Janneth, the oldest, has chronic tonsillitis, Brenda has asthma and Guadalupe is severely anemic. The family is without health insurance and cannot afford to pay for medicine and doctor’s visits for the girls. Their mother, Teresa, says that they lost health coverage because the Medicaid official claims her reauthorization packet was received late. And subsequent applications became ensnarled in red tape. As their mother attempted to breach the wall of bureaucratic delay and entanglement, Janneth, Brenda and Guadalupe continued to suffer.

This case is not unique. More than 9 million children in our country are without health insurance, nearly 90 percent of them in working families. Unfortunately, the national crisis around children’s health care is getting worse as states are running out of money for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). A bipartisan letter sent on February 23 from the National Governors Association to congressional leaders urges increased funding for the program. Without greater support, some governors charge that they will have to take measures like freezing enrollment, restricting eligibility, increasing premiums charged to low-income families or reducing benefits like dental and vision care. Such steps would only exacerbate the problems that currently deny children the critical care they need. But even if SCHIP is fully funded, millions of children will still be excluded from health care coverage.

Up until now, Medicaid and the SCHIP program have made great strides in providing children with health insurance. But even with their successes, one out of every nine of our children is still without health insurance and millions more are underinsured. As Congress considers reauthorization of SCHIP this year, we have a unique opportunity to take the next logical, achievable and moral step that would guarantee comprehensive health and mental health care to all children and pregnant women. We at the Children's Defense Fund propose a plan whereby children’s health coverage under Medicaid and SCHIP would be consolidated into a single program. This will include a guaranteed, comprehensive benefits package nationwide for children whose family incomes are at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level (topping at about $62,000 a year for a family of four).

Under the proposal, children currently enrolled in Medicaid, SCHIP and means-tested federal programs like school lunch and food stamps would be enrolled automatically, with an opportunity for parents to opt out. Uninsured children could also be automatically enrolled when they are born, enter school or get a Social Security card, again with the opportunity to opt out. An easy-to-complete application form would simplify enrollment and cut through red tape. Once their application has been submitted, children would be presumed immediately eligible for services, and obstacles to enrolling and staying enrolled would be eliminated. Another element of the proposal would substantially increase reimbursements to health care providers so children can actually get health services when they need them. And there would be no additional cost to states for child coverage expansion or enhanced benefits.

Health coverage can be provided to every child in America in 2007. The funding necessary to expand coverage to all children and pregnant women would be the equivalent to just nine days of Defense Department spending in 2007, and three months of the tax cuts to the richest one percent of Americans this year.

Leaving nine million children without health care is a moral outrage that can and must be addressed. It’s up to Congress and President Bush to act now. Children like Janneth, Brenda and Guadalupe can’t wait.

For more information on CDF’s child health care plan, go to www.ElectSusie.com.