LAKE COUNTY –The future of affordable health care for children of low-income families faces crisis after President George W. Bush”s veto of the bill. Lakeport single mother Kim Beall won”t be the only one in the county worried about making ends meet if efforts to override the veto in an Oct. 18 vote aren”t successful.
Congress proposed to expand the State Children”s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover 10 million children, four million more than are now on its insurance rolls, to the tune of $35 billion to $50 billion. Bush proposed $5 billion to expand the program, and promised a veto if Congress pushed for health care expansion through SCHIP. Supporters pushing for an override are hoping to produce the needed 15 votes in the House when the legislation goes before both sides of Capitol Hill. A two-thirds majority is needed in both houses for the measure to become law.
“I”m worried that a lot of children won”t be covered,” said Beall, who runs a day care in her Lakeport home. She said of the 14 children enrolled, eight are on either Healthy Families or Medi-Cal.
Healthy Families stands in the gap between Medi-Cal and rising insurance premiums for America”s working poor. Like many other Lake County families, Beall”s monthly income is just enough to make her ineligible for Medi-Cal, which covers very low-income children and families.
Congressman Mike Thompson said Bush”s $5 million compromise would cut one and a half million children from the SCHIP program. “I find it interesting he (Bush) is alright if it”s four and a half million kids, but he”s not alright if it”s 10 million. If you”re in for a penny you”re in for a pound,” Thompson said Thursday.
“I”d go into debt,” Beall said. Her son is covered under Healthy Families, California”s version of the federally funded and state-administered SCHIP program. Beall said Healthy Families has covered $15,000 of expenses for his medical condition that requires frequent follow-ups.
Thompson”s office reported that 1,666 Lake County children were enrolled in Healthy Families as of this June. It is those whose families don”t realize they qualify that Thompson said he wants to help.
“Not only is the program working for 6 million kids, but there are 4 million out there who qualify that we need to figure how to get them in,” Thompson said.
“I think it”s terrible that the President is using children who need health care for his political purposes, and I think that will come back to haunt him and his party,” Thompson said. He called Bush”s veto “both foolish and shameless,” adding that the expansion would be an investment in a healthy Medicare population down the road.
“The difference between the very rich and the very poor is going to become very distant, and the middle class will no longer able to exist financially,” Beall said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
