The GOP's War on Poor Children

In the warped Republican world of "family values," some families and some children simply do not matter.  Obviously, families headed by same sex couples do not matter as evidenced by the GOP's opposition to marriage equality which would provide increases security to thousands of children.  Nor seemingly do poor families and poor children matter.  That's the only conclusion that can be reached from a GOP effort to take away health insurance coverage for over a million children.  A New York Times editorial looks at the GOP's sick version of "family values."  Here are excerpts:

Senior Republicans in Congress are seeking major changes to the Children’s Health Insurance Program when the program’s money runs out in September.

Their proposal, labeled a “discussion draft” for legislation yet to be written, could deprive more than a million children of insurance or force their families to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for their coverage. It also would shift costs to states, which would be left holding the bag to pay for the children’s insurance or for the care of the children as uninsured patients.

The draft is being circulated by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; and Representative Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, chairman of the health subcommittee. It threatens to undermine the progress made in reducing the number of uninsured children, gains that came from enrolling more children in Medicaid and in CHIP, which covers children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

The Republican proposal would eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that states keep the family-income eligibility levels stable until 2019, and it could make it harder for families to prove their eligibility. Faced with a loss of federal funds for CHIP, as suggested in the Republican proposal, many states would probably shrink their CHIP programs and reduce their own financial contributions. A result would be fewer children enrolled in the program. 

And the proposal would allow states to impose a 12-month waiting period (up from the current 90 days) before children who lose coverage from a parent’s insurance plan can be enrolled in CHIP. That is a very long time for a youngster to go without insurance and the regular care it provides. Many families in that situation will not be able to afford coverage on the new health care exchanges.

The Republican proposal is billed as a way to let states make “common-sense changes” to their Medicaid and CHIP programs. But instead of helping the states, it could end up costing them a lot of money.

By contrast, bills introduced in the House and Senate by Democrats would extend federal CHIP financing for the next four years and largely continue the program along current lines. That is the better approach. Governors should lean on Congress to extend this valuable children’s program without major changes.