S-CHIP UPDATE: What (Was) All The Fuss About? (Amended Post)
What is S-CHIP? S-CHIP is legislation introduced in the (S)enate [(H)ouse.R. 3963)] under the Bush Administration and promised to be finally signed into passage by President Obama. When a bill is introduced in the Senate, it carries the prefix "S" and when it is introduced in the House of Representatives, it carries the prefix "H."
Basically, the first bill (H.R. 976) was passed by Congress two years ago, but vetoed by President Bush. It underwent revisions following intense discussions and was passed by the House of Representatives as H.R. 3963. At that time, President Bush vetoed the Bill in December 2007.
"CHIP" stands for the Children Health Insurance Policy that advanced to the Senate and ultimately needed presidential passing that will provide healthcare coverage for the poor and most needy children in our country. It was defeated by a Presidential veto! As I continue to follow this vital piece of legislation, I wonder how many families actually understand what all the concern is about? Well, it is about blood traveling through the veins to keep a child's heart beating, or chemo-therapy for the child suffering with leukemia or other cancers, or the costly respiratory equipment for the young asthmatic child, or the teenager struggling with a brain disorder, and all of these children need on-going medical care that their families cannot afford because they are poor.
It is about Caucasian children, African-American children, Hispanic children, and every American child with medical fragilities (i.e., trache). It is about the need for states to receive federal dollars to be able to equally afford to provide health coverage for these children annually. It is about a former President who asked Congress to give him over $200 billion for the war in Iraq, yet he repeatedly vetoed the S-CHIP legislation (Vetoed three times!) requesting necessary state healthcare expansion into federal funds in the amount of $35 billion dollars.
The raw facts are that the average family cannot afford the astronomical costs of healthcare. For the family living within the poverty level of less than $41,000 for a family of four, it is a matter of life and death. For the innocent child who is born with various on-going and life-threatening illnesses, S-CHIP is literally his or her lifeline to a quality of life. The heart-wrenching reality was that without the passage of S-CHIP, states would have denied over 5 million children, comprehensive medical treatment. Some states, such as Georgia, had to begin denying children access to healthcare as early as November 16, 2007! This contributed to the growing number of uninsured children in America.
Health insurance companies routinely do not cover the full cost of medical costs for many ill children (i.e., pre-existing condition, etc.). Most families could not even afford the high premium cost of insuring their child/ren. It is imperative that parents be able to seek out the mental health services for our children affected by a brain disorder.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illnesses (NAMI), between 5 to 9 percent of children (approximately 3 million) are affected by a brain disorder. These children are between the ages of 5 thru 17. These children become adults with untreated brain disorder and also the delay in medical treatment until these children become able to possibly work to afford health coverage is catastrophic to America. It is important to begin mental healthcare immediately and providing medical coverage in general is a step towards preventiion of other health concerns such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.
As voting adults and advocates, we sent a strong message to not only Congress, but to a President-in-waiting that S-CHIP must be signed into passage without further delay. President Obama recognized the urgency of signing S-CHIP eagerly!
How is S-CHIP going to benefit children?
S-CHIP will make it possible for each state to provide health coverage to children. The days of one state being able to help more children than another state, will be pretty much over. This is because now every state will be able to access federal help to cover an additional 4 million children nationally.
S-CHIP will have far-reaching affects into the schools, too, under the education rights/protections of IDEA. This will enable children with brain disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Autism, etc. to receive medical supports and services to attend school and participate in the learning process in the classroom.
S-CHIP will also cover children who need mental healthcare and therapies for brain disorders including Bipolar, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. Being able to provide this type of mental healthcare to otherwise ineligible children will have positive outcomes on the family, community, and the individual as he or she ages into an adult. S-CHIP will surely impact the high-rate of teen suicide because children can get medical assistance to prevent suicides, decrease teen pregnancy, decrease spread of AIDS/HIV or s*xually Transmitted Diseases, and also decrease crimes committed by teens suffering from depression, etc.. It will contribute to the decrease in the high school drop-out rate when services can be accessed through school systems under S-CHIP.
However, there's still millions more children needing quality healthcare so while this is a monumental accomplishment, more children need our help!
Of course, if your child is one of the millions to be benefitted by S-CHIP, you can access mental healthcare information by visiting...
Visit the National Alliance on Mental Illnesses (NAMI) at
www.nami.org Children and Adults with ADD (CHADD) at
www.chadd.org Follow the Children Defense Fund to follow the passage of a totally inclusive children's health insurance policy at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wrigh... See Part 2 of 2 and be fully informed about the bridge effect...thank you!
Agnes B. Levine
Author of: "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" ISBN 0975461206 - COMING SOON...
Posted By: agnes levine
Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 at 8:07PM
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