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Health insurance changes are sound policy

Posted on June 12, 2008June 12, 2008 by Staff

By Sen. Elizabeth Dole

I would like to respond to criticisms in a June 5 op-ed by Adam Searing regarding my bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Although the president vetoed SCHIP legislation, Congress with my support extended the current program through March 2009, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important issue.

The intent of SCHIP is to allow states to provide health coverage to children in families with no health insurance that also have an income above Medicaid eligibility levels. I strongly back this program and believe that the North Carolina Health Choice program is among the best in the nation. Other states, however, have deviated from SCHIP’s original mission and, for example, provide health care to adults with their SCHIP funds.

I introduced my own SCHIP legislation after Congress failed to pass a reauthorization bill, because it not only failed to fix existing problems with the program, but it also relied on an unsound funding mechanism. Particularly unfair to North Carolina, this bill would have increased the federal tobacco tax by 156 percent — a tax hike that would have landed squarely on the shoulders of the more than 255,000 North Carolinians who rely on this industry for their livelihood. As Mr. Searing points out, our state can ill-afford to lose more jobs, and I agree.
Rather than raising taxes and costing North Carolina jobs, my bill funds SCHIP by closing two tax loopholes that multi-millionaire hedge fund managers have been taking advantage of — the first allowing them to avoid taxes on billions of dollars through offshore accounts and the second allowing their income to be taxed at about half the level of that of teachers, police officers and other hard-working North Carolinians.
My legislation also addresses problems in the current program by requiring states to focus on covering the neediest children before expanding to higher-income eligibility levels. Moreover, it calls for phasing out coverage for currently enrolled adults and verifying the legal status of SCHIP beneficiaries.
Under the legislation I propose, SCHIP funds would in fact increase by about $17 billion over the current baseline; therefore, states would receive more funding to cover eligible children. Criticism that my bill fails to provide funds past 2013 is undue, considering that the bill Mr. Searing advocates for was also a five-year funding authorization. Furthermore, the failed SCHIP bill relied on a budget gimmick that needed more than 22 million additional Americans to take up smoking to keep the program running over the next decade on tobacco tax revenues. Conversely, my bill uses a stable revenue source for this critical program.
SCHIP helps ensure that our neediest children receive vital health care services. I stand by my bill, and I stand by my position that we can reauthorize and expand SCHIP without sacrificing North Carolina jobs. After all, our state’s economy should not have to pick up the tab for a nationwide program.
Elizabeth Dole represents North Carolina in the United States Senate.

1 thought on “Health insurance changes are sound policy”

  1. Pingback: The Progressive Pulse – NC Senate helping Elizabeth Dole and hurting kids

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