SCHIP bill
By on
February 5th, 2009
President Barack Obama signed SCHIP bill Wednesday to expand publicly funded health care for children ending two years of efforts from members of the Democratic Party and making and historical move in the nation’s political landscape.
President George W. Bush vetoed similar bills pushed by the Democrats in Congress two years ago. On the other hand, President Obama said he sees the State Children’s Health Insurance Program as a first step towards government-run healthcare.
The bill, which authorizes a $33-billion expansion of a children’s health plan, will allow more than 7 million children to continue receiving health care through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, while permitting 4 million more children to sign up to the program.
However, despite the historical move, Obama said after signing the bill that he sees it as a “down payment” to his commitment to cover every single U.S. citizen. The Democrats pushed the bill through the House and Senate as well in order to give President Obama an early, major victory on health care.
Signing this bill was a great move, but the next steps towards Obama’s objective of covering every American with government-run health care will be much tougher to obtain considering the increasing federal debt, the interests in the health care community and the opposing Republicans.
Obama mentioned that the lack of money for the CHIP was forcing families without health care coverage to make impossible decisions considering the fact that all it takes for them to enter into financial ruin is one injury or accident.
“This is not who we are,” said the President. “We are not a nation that leaves struggling families to fend for themselves.”
The bill was finally passed after a 290-135, bipartisan vote in the House. 40 Republicans voted for the bill that will reduce the number of uninsured children in the U.S. by about half over the next 4 years.
Popularity: 1% [?]
