Good news for children: the SCHIP reauthorization

As a developed country, we have room for improvement: we spent nearly $2 trillion in health care in 2006, which has almost doubled since 1995, while 46% of people lack health insurance.

In addition, the current economic crisis, which is causing massive losses of jobs, will result in further increases in the uninsured. The unemployment trend doesn’t look good.

Access to healthcare for many children is likely to worsen. Official rates for 2007 indicate that 11% of children remained uninsured, a proportion that has remained relatively constant.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program is a federal-state program administered by the CMS that provides health benefits for children living in families with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. It was instituted in 1997 with a 10-year expenditure of $40 billion.

In 2007, former president George W. Bush vetoed the program twice, risking access to care for millions of children. On Feb. 4, after few days in office, President Obama signed into public law a bill that sustains and expands the program to reach 11 million children from low-income families.

The current health care agenda is backed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the ~$800 billion stimulus package), and contains many important changes that may positively affect Americans.

Contained within this act is a $10 million boost to the National Institutes of Health that will result in more research support (yeah!), $25 billion to provide continuation of care for laid-off workers, and a strong emphasis in information technology. Interestingly, a $1.1 billion program will fund head-to-head drug trials in an effort to curtail escalating costs in medical care.

We all share the responsibility of doing our best for the next generation. The SCHIP reauthorization is a huge step toward reducing health disparities and improving the overall public health. This is good news for children.