WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressing his support of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) while warning against covering so-called children up to the age of twenty-five, illegal immigrants and the wealthy.

“When it was created by Congress in 1997, SCHIP bridged an important gap for uninsured children that did not qualify for Medicaid,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.  “The program has been tremendously successful, and while some expansion is necessary and justified, using it as a Trojan Horse for a government provided universal health care risks turning a good thing into yet another bloated federal program.”

In 2007, Rehberg voted against the House passed a version of SCHIP that expanded the program to provide coverage for adults, illegal immigrants and wealthy families.  He later supported a consensus version that removed these provisions, focusing instead on the responsible expansion of the core program.  At the time he sent his letter, House Democrats had not revealed the final version of the bill they expect to call up for a vote on Wednesday.

“Now’s not the time to play politics with kids health,” said Rehberg.  “Montanans deserve a strong bill that focuses on putting the health of children first.”

Letter:

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

        Thank you for making the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) one of your top legislative priorities in the 111^th Congress.  I agree with you that we cannot let federal SCHIP funding expire on March 31, 2009.  Our nation’s children deserve access to quality health care, and during these tough economic times SCHIP is more important than ever.  I believe it is incumbent upon the Congress to not only continue funding SCHIP in a stable, reliable manner, but also expand SCHIP to cover more uninsured kids. 

        In Montana today, more than 20,000 kids are enrolled in the SCHIP program.  Estimates indicate that there are an additional 20,000 Montana kids who are eligible for SCHIP but remain uninsured.  I want to see additional funding to support expansion of SCHIP beyond the level we are at today so that all kids have the opportunity to have access to quality health care. 

        However, the expansion of SCHIP must be done in a responsible way that puts the nation’s children first.  Some proposals have suggested that certain adults, wealthier families and illegal immigrants should be eligible for SCHIP funding.  SCHIP was not designed to handle these additional groups, and expansion to cover these groups adds to the instability of long term funding.  SCHIP funds should be reserved for a main objective: delivering quality health services to our nation’s uninsured children today and for future generations.  There will be a time and a place for a larger health care debate, but the SCHIP bill is not the vehicle.  

        Again, thank you for your attention to and action on this timely issue.  I hope that you will consider a proposal that expands SCHIP coverage for children.  By focusing on this narrowly tailored group, we can ensure that SCHIP will be stable for years to come. 

Sincerely,