Catholic Charities USA to Congress: "Save health care for kids!"

Social justice news
July 2007

Catholic Charities USA to Congress: "Save health care for kids!"
WASHINGTON, July 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As both the House and Senate work to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Catholic Charities USA is calling on Congress to strengthen and improve the highly successful program by committing more resources to cover all eligible children.

"It is a tragedy that 9 million children are living without health insurance in this country when we know that SCHIP works and is making a real difference in the lives of children from low-income families," said Candy Hill, senior vice president for social policy for Catholic Charities USA. "We can -- and must -- do better. SCHIP should be reauthorized and strengthened so even more low-income children have the health care coverage they need to grow up healthy and strong."

According to Catholic Charities USA, the bipartisan legislation approved by the Senate Finance Committee last week takes a big step forward in enhancing SCHIP. The legislation includes $35 billion in new resources to provide health coverage to more than 3 million children from low-income families; additional incentives for states to develop outreach and enrollment plans; and improvements to SCHIP by including language on mental health parity and dental health coverage.

Catholic Charities USA urges Congress not to give into presidential veto threats. "The White House's threat to veto this much-needed expansion of SCHIP would deny America's children essential health care and is the wrong approach to resolve ideological differences over health care reform," continued Hill. "Congress and the Administration must find the political will to improve the program in order to cover ALL eligible children. Adequate health care is a basic human right. When our nation denies that right, we neglect the common good and weaken our society."

Specifically Catholic Charities USA is calling on Congress to continue coverage for those children already enrolled in SCHIP, provide sufficient resources to enroll the millions more uninsured children who are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid; ensure coverage for legal immigrant children and pregnant women by removing the current five-year restriction; and remove other barriers that keep many eligible families from enrolling in the program.

"As an important component of our Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, Catholic Charities USA strongly supports improvements to our nation's health care safety net," said Hill. "SCHIP not only ensures access to affordable health care for our nation's most vulnerable children, it also helps families escape poverty."

Catholic Charities USA's members -- more than 1,500 local agencies and institutions nationwide -- provide help and create hope for more than 7.4 million people of all faiths and social and economic backgrounds. For more than 275 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing. For more information, visit http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/ .

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