SCHIP veto, Rossi Response
Last month our illustrious president, George Bush voted not to provide health care for 900,00 low income children by vetoing the expansion of the Supplemental Childrens Health Insurance Plan, known as SCHIP. According to the nonpartisan nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2005 there were 46.1 million people under the age of 65, without insurance in the United States. Of that group, only 25% are eligible for state Medicaid programs, including the SCHIP. Fifty six percent of the uninsured are not eligible for public health care programs but need financial assistance to purchase health insurance or health care. This means that if you are a family of four and earn more than $20,650, you are over the Federal Poverty Level. The SCHIP guidelines allows families earning no more than 200% of the FPL rate or $41,299, to apply for Medicaid coverage for their children. The proposed federal expansion for SCHIP would have allowed families with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (abou...