Children’s Health Care - November 2007
Dear Friends,
The U.S. Congress has passed several bipartisan bills this year to reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and deliver health care coverage to 10 million of our most vulnerable children. But despite the overwhelming support for the SCHIP program in Congress and across the country, the President has thus far refused to sign the legislation into law, already vetoing one version of the SCHIP bill and threatening to veto another.
Since its creation a decade ago, SCHIP has been widely credited with improving insurance coverage for children and ensuring that millions of low-income children are able to see a doctor when they are sick. Currently, about 6 million kids are covered under SCHIP. Legislation passed in Congress earlier this year would expand the SCHIP program by $35 billion, insuring an additional 4 million children nationwide and 38,500 children in Washington State. Unfortunately, the President vetoed the SCHIP legislation on October 3rd, and an attempt in Congress to override the veto fell short by just a handful of votes.
I believe the President’s refusal to reauthorize SCHIP is irresponsible, especially as the rate of diseases like obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure in children is rising dramatically and as health care costs continue to soar. According to a recent study by the Congressional Research Service, 21 states will lose their federal funding for children’s health care next year if the President continues to block this legislation.
Despite the President’s opposition, work is continuing here in Congress on SCHIP reauthorization, and the House and Senate recently passed a revised version of the bill that addressed several of the President’s concerns. Again, however, he has threatened a veto. Just last week the President vetoed another critical health care bill – the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill for next year – legislation that would have invested billions of dollars domestically for medical research and access to health care. Meanwhile, 8.7 million children in the United States remain uninsured.
As a father and a grandfather, I find it difficult to accept the President’s continued opposition to SCHIP reauthorization. This program is simply too important to the millions of children who rely on it for medical care to make it the subject of a political battle. As my colleagues and I work in the coming months toward a compromise on SCHIP, I remain committed to reauthorizing the program and ensuring that all American children have access to the care they need.
According to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation passed by Congress – and vetoed by the President – would have provided health care coverage to thousands of children in the Sixth District and around the State:
Clallam County: 485 additional children would be covered
Grays Harbor County: 701 additional children would be covered
Jefferson County: 159 additional children would be covered
Kitsap County: 323 additional children would be covered
Mason County: 402 additional children would be covered
Pierce County: 1,438 additional children would be covered
Veterans and Suicide – An Alarming New Report
The numbers are startling: One-third of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health problems. Up to 300,000 returning troops will experience some degree of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And just last week, CBS News revealed that at least 6,256 veterans took their own lives in 2005 – more than twice the rate of other Americans. Even more disturbing, the five-month CBS News investigation found that young veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq are committing suicide at an even higher rate.
These numbers reflect years of failure on the part of the U.S. government to care for the men and women who have served in its military and fought its wars. Since January, however, the Democratically controlled Congress has recognized this failure, approving an additional $8.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For next year, the House has passed legislation that would increase the VA’s budget by $6.6 billion – the largest increase for veterans health care in history. This bill would allow the Veterans Health Administration to treat the over 5.8 million patients it is expecting in 2008, though the President has threatened to veto the legislation.
Earlier this year, my colleagues and I passed the “Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act,” which sets up a program within the VA to regularly screen and monitor all veterans for risk factors of suicide, provide education and training for all VA staff, contractors, and medical personnel who have interaction with veterans, and provide 24-hour mental health care for veterans who are believed to be at risk for suicide.
Still, I believe the alarmingly high rate of suicide among veterans makes clear that we must do a better job tending to the mental health needs of the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces. Following the CBS News report, I called for Congressional hearings into the matter. And last week, the Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee announced a hearing planned for next month to investigate how the mental health needs of our veterans are – and are not – being met by the government.
As a generation of servicemen and women return home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with physical and mental scars, it is absolutely unacceptable for them to be denied the care they need. These troops – and those who fought in previous wars – deserve better, and I remain committed to improving mental health care for our veterans.
As always, I welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
NORM DICKS
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