Welch backs expansion plan for kids' health care

By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed an expansion of the country's health care program for children, called SCHIP for short, and Rep. Peter Welch argued at a stop in Burlington on Monday that it should be made into law.

There is some worry that President George Bush may veto the expanded version of the 10-year-old State Children's Health Insurance Program, Welch said.

"I hope the president is going to see that folks back home, including Republican governors, appreciate the value of the SCHIP program," Welch said. Vermont Gov. James Douglas joined other state leaders in urging the continuation of the program, which is set to expire in September.

However, some objected to the inclusion of changes in Medicare in what came to be called the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act passed by the House with Welch's support. Those changes will end a "sweetheart deal" to insurance companies under the Medicare Advantage Plan, Welch said.

"The outcome of this will have very serious impact on the future solvency of Medicare," he said.

But there is some way to go before the bill becomes law. The Senate version of the measure includes the expansion of SCHIP ?Çö adding coverage for 5 million more low-income children to the 6 million already under the program ?Çö but does not include the Medicare portion.

The provision attempts health care coverage reform for young and old in one bill, according to Welch. "We have incorporated reforms that help children and seniors," he said. "We have got to get to a place in this country where everybody is covered regardless of age or employment status."

Some in Congress objected to the expansion of SCHIP because of the increased cost and because they believe it expands coverage to illegal immigrants and families that are too well off.

Both worries are unfounded, Welch said.

"I don't know what planet they are on. These are families struggling to make ends meet," he said.

And it is important economically to Vermont, where the state has already made a commitment to providing health insurance to those children.

"If we don't authorize SCHIP," Welch said. "Vermont would face a very grim choice: abandoning its historic commitment to kids or continuing to meet it with a substantial additional burden on our taxpayers."