Mercury News Editorial: Obama must speak for our children on health care
January 7, 2009
Barack Obama must speak for America's uninsured children. George Bush claimed to care, but when it came to health coverage, he left behind one out of every nine kids in the United States — 8.6 million in all.
Few groups suffer more from government budget cuts than children, and it's no secret why. They don't vote. That's one reason why Bush dismissed pleas to expand the state children's health insurance program known as SCHIP. He also saw the program as a step toward a government solution to the nation's health care woes, which he opposed.
Obama promises change in this as well as other areas. The president-elect and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in talks earlier this week on health care, debating whether to expand coverage for uninsured children as part of the proposed economic stimulus package.
The better option would be to deal with it separately. Caring for children is the mandatory first step toward overall health care reform, which Obama hopes to enact in the first months of his presidency. Expanding children's coverage would score an early win in that campaign.
The children's health program has had bipartisan support in Congress in the past, but there is no guarantee that Republicans will support it now. Opponents of broad health care reform may use this debate as a referendum on Obama's larger plans.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set the precedent for this. He took office in 2004 promising that insuring all of California's kids would be one of his first priorities. Five years later, there are more than 800,000 uninsured children in the state, the vast majority of whom are here legally. That's because the governor tied insuring children to his universal health care reforms, which Republicans in the Legislature refused to support.
Obama must avoid that trap. He should reach out to secure GOP votes for expanding the SCHIP program on its own merits before the House and Senate begin to debate the issue.
His level of success will be an early indicator of his ability to win Republican support for his campaign goals.
The benefits of this program are undeniable. It's heartbreaking that the overwhelming number — about 70 percent — of uninsured children live in homes where at least one family member has a job. More than one-third of those children do not regularly visit doctors. Parents typically wait until preventable conditions advance to a serious stage, and then seek care in the most costly place — hospital emergency rooms, which cannot turn them away. The cost to American taxpayers of treating children without coverage is estimated at more than $35 billion. That would pay for a whole lot of doctor visits.
The greater benefit of insuring children is proven by studies of California kids enrolled in SCHIP for two years. The children showed dramatic improvement in their health, which made them more likely to go to school, graduate and become productive workers.
Obama wants to signal a new day in America. Insuring all of our children would be a dramatic step in that direction.
Barack Obama must speak for America's uninsured children. George Bush claimed to care, but when it came to health coverage, he left behind one out of every nine kids in the United States — 8.6 million in all.
Few groups suffer more from government budget cuts than children, and it's no secret why. They don't vote. That's one reason why Bush dismissed pleas to expand the state children's health insurance program known as SCHIP. He also saw the program as a step toward a government solution to the nation's health care woes, which he opposed.
Obama promises change in this as well as other areas. The president-elect and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in talks earlier this week on health care, debating whether to expand coverage for uninsured children as part of the proposed economic stimulus package.
The better option would be to deal with it separately. Caring for children is the mandatory first step toward overall health care reform, which Obama hopes to enact in the first months of his presidency. Expanding children's coverage would score an early win in that campaign.
The children's health program has had bipartisan support in Congress in the past, but there is no guarantee that Republicans will support it now. Opponents of broad health care reform may use this debate as a referendum on Obama's larger plans.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set the precedent for this. He took office in 2004 promising that insuring all of California's kids would be one of his first priorities. Five years later, there are more than 800,000 uninsured children in the state, the vast majority of whom are here legally. That's because the governor tied insuring children to his universal health care reforms, which Republicans in the Legislature refused to support.
Obama must avoid that trap. He should reach out to secure GOP votes for expanding the SCHIP program on its own merits before the House and Senate begin to debate the issue.
His level of success will be an early indicator of his ability to win Republican support for his campaign goals.
The benefits of this program are undeniable. It's heartbreaking that the overwhelming number — about 70 percent — of uninsured children live in homes where at least one family member has a job. More than one-third of those children do not regularly visit doctors. Parents typically wait until preventable conditions advance to a serious stage, and then seek care in the most costly place — hospital emergency rooms, which cannot turn them away. The cost to American taxpayers of treating children without coverage is estimated at more than $35 billion. That would pay for a whole lot of doctor visits.
The greater benefit of insuring children is proven by studies of California kids enrolled in SCHIP for two years. The children showed dramatic improvement in their health, which made them more likely to go to school, graduate and become productive workers.
Obama wants to signal a new day in America. Insuring all of our children would be a dramatic step in that direction.
