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Kids can’t wait

Posted by: Ella Hushagen on Nov 21, 2008

Trying to get your kids to wait patiently in line at the grocery store or sitting at the table is next to impossible. Have you tried making them wait for health coverage? Probably not, because that would make you feel fidgety and nervous.

California is considering a move that would do just that-put uninsured kids who qualify for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) on a waiting list for health coverage. The Los Angeles Times reports:

State officials are considering capping enrollment in California's health insurance program for children of the working poor, as an influx of new clients overwhelms it.... As many as 162,750 children could end up on a waiting list within six months.

The economic crisis is taking a toll on working families, leaving more and more without jobs and without health insurance. The corresponding increase in demand for public programs like CHIP and Medicaid puts extra pressure on state budgets just when states can least afford it. Over half of state budgets are currently in the red, with worse news coming every day.

However, states should not balance the budget on the backs of children. States must protect the safety net, which is all the more valuable to working families during tough economic times.

States can't do it alone, though; they need greater support from the federal government (which currently picks up more than half the tab of the SCHIP program). Last year, President Bush vetoed the bill Congress passed to provide adequate funding to cover 4 million uninsured kids. Twice. Now the 111^th Congress has the opportunity to complete this unfinished business and strengthen the safety net for uninsured kids. They can also helps kids by providing a temporary increase in federal funding for Medicaid, since half of all Medicaid enrollees are kids.    

Encourage your members of Congress to act swiftly and boldly. Kids can't wait. Nor should they have to.