By Alfred Lubrano
Inquirer Staff Writer
In a carefully chosen setting in a Northeast Philadelphia children's center yesterday, three Pennsylvania members of Congress exalted the passage of legislation that will expand publicly funded health insurance for children.
Last week, President Obama signed into law the reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Using Pennsylvania's program (CHIP) as a model, SCHIP gives states federal money to cover uninsured children to age 18 in families with incomes above Medicaid eligibility levels but who cannot afford health insurance.
President George W. Bush had twice vetoed similar proposals.
The new bill provides $33 billion in government-subsidized insurance. It is expected to halve the number of uninsured children in the United States over the next 41/2 years, and bring the total number of children covered by the program to 11 million. The program is paid for by tobacco taxes.
"This is a great achievement," U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D, Pa.) said to advocates and a group of well-behaved preschoolers at Samuel Paley Early Learning Center.
"This legislation is about three words: peace of mind. It's the knowledge that, if a parent has a sick child, someone will be there to help."
Casey's sentiments were echoed by two Democratic U.S. representatives from Pennsylvania, Chaka Fattah and Allyson Schwartz. In a room with brightly painted animals on the walls, they discussed the bill's passage.
Currently, there are about 184,000 children on SCHIP in Pennsylvania, up 11 percent from a year ago. In Philadelphia, enrollment increased from 26,611 in October 2008 to 28,273 this month.
"We should be proud in Pennsylvania that we set the model for SCHIP," said Schwartz, who, along with Casey's father, Gov. Bob Casey Sr., was among the creators of the state CHIP program.
Fattah added, "In the Philadelphia region, tens of thousands of young people will benefit. This is the first step toward providing health care to every single person in America."
Casey warned that, as welcome as Obama's signature was, "there are still 4 to 5 million more children still not covered by insurance."
Addressing the children in attendance, Shelly Yanoff, executive director of Philadelphia Public Citizens for Children and Youth, said, "Some day, every single child in the country will have health care. . . . Our new president said nothing is more important than you having health care."
In Pennsylvania, which has a "cover all kids" policy, every uninsured child is technically eligible for health insurance under CHIP or Medicaid. The very poorest have Medicaid.
For families of four making up to $42,000 a year (about twice the federal poverty level of $21,200), CHIP is free.
If families of four make between $42,000 and $63,000, they must pay an average monthly insurance premium of $40 to $64 per child.
A family of four making more than $63,600 can get insurance at a cost of $161 per child per month.
