Mon, Dec. 07, 2009

Edelman worries about children losing health coverage amid reforms

By Steve Penn
The Kansas City Star

Marian Wright Edelman doesn’t believe that lawmakers had the best interests of children in mind when the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform.

The bill would repeal the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP, at the end of 2013.

Millions of children nationwide in families with incomes above 150 percent of the federal poverty level ($33,075 for a family of four) would lose CHIP coverage and instead be eligible for insurance offered through a new health insurance exchange.

“Children by the millions are going to be worse rather than better off,” Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, said last week in a conference call to members of the Trotter Group, an organization of black columnists across the country. “The exchange has not been tested.”

Edelman has a remedy.

She supports an amendment offered by Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, that would keep CHIP in place until 2019 — and until it can be determined whether the insurance exchange is safer and a better place to cover children.

Though Edelman applauded reforms in the House bill on issues such as pre-existing medical conditions, she fears parents will end up paying more for their children to receive fewer assured benefits.

“We know how CHIP worked,” Edelman said. “We’ve been trying to make it work better the last 11 years. It’s sound. It’s cost-effective.”

More than 136,000 children in Missouri and 51,000 in Kansas receive coverage through CHIP, the Children’s Defense Fund says.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama signed legislation to expand the program.

“To hand 10 million of these children back to the insurance companies, which will be costlier, is a U-turn in the struggles to have a funded safety net,” Edelman said. “It’s not right.”

Currently, 8.1 million U.S. children are uninsured. Six million have not been enrolled despite being eligible for CHIP or Medicaid. Experts largely blame state bureaucratic barriers.

The need for reform is clear. Every year, 28,000 children die before their first birthday. The Casey amendment would end barriers that keep many children from getting health care. It would require an affordable national health safety net for all children.

“I can’t believe that in 2009, after all the wonderful rhetoric about children, we’re struggling to keep millions from losing what they have,” Edelman said. “The Casey amendment would fix it. It would save taxpayers money. And it would save millions of children’s lives.”

Casey is a moderate Democrat. It will be interesting to see how much support he can rally from other senators. The welfare of many children may be riding on it.

To reach Steve Penn, call 816-234-4417 or send e-mail to spenn@kcstar.com.