Prospects dim for popular health bill

Congress's bid to renew a program for poor children revives debate over healthcare.

from the July 20, 2007 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

The $35 billion price tag is well above the $5 billion the White House budgeted for the program, but below the $50 billion provided in the budget agreement passed by the new Democratic Congress.

But some Republicans, citing estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, say that the costs over 10 years for the SCHIP program will be $112 billion.

"This is unsustainable, and we don't pretend to sustain it in the bill," said Sen. Jon Kyl (R) of Arizona, during the committee markup. "We shouldn't be making a promise we can't keep. People will be relying on us."

"It's staggering to think that to insure an additional 3.3 million children it will cost $35 billion, but that's the scope of the problem we're facing," said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine.

One reason costs for maintaining the program are so high is the waivers for states that the Bush administration has approved, including the inclusion of some 700,000 adults in the SCHIP program.

The legislation "tries to straighten out the mess created by all the waivers that have spent program resources on adults and higher-income kids," says Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

Early in the Bush administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) vastly expanded waivers for states to encourage them to be more innovative in extending health coverage including allowing SCHIP to cover adults.

Since then, the White House has tried to rein in coverage for adults and "refocus on the purpose of the program," HHS spokeswoman Christina Pearson says.

Public-interest groups note that the SCHIP bill is the main vehicle for healthcare legislation in the 110th Congress.

"For the White House, it's all about talking points and doing their tax agenda," says Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus Foundation, a nonprofit group that lobbies for children.

He adds, "They have 16 months left and they've done nothing on healthcare."

1 | Page 2