Press Releases
Rep. Young Votes in Favor of Alaska's Children"Issues such as the health and well-being of our nation's children are nothing to play politics with and nothing to scrimp on." -Rep. Young
Washington, D.C.,
September 25, 2007
Alaskan Congressman Don Young voted today in favor of H.R. 976, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007. The House originally tried to push through a version of this bill in July, but the well-meaning, poorly thought out bill left gaping loopholes that allowed for provisions such as free health insurance for illegal immigrants, as well as for those making 1000% over the poverty level. It also cut billions for such critical Medicare services such as inpatient care at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health care for seniors. Today, the House was able to pass a compromise bill that reauthorizes SCHIP and expands enrollment from 6.6 million children to roughly 10 million children. This version of the bill would provide dental benefits for all children enrolled in the program, would reinforce coverage of early periodic screening diagnosis and treatment benefits, and would require participants to provide a Social Security number prior to enrollment so as to cut down on fraud. "This is still not the bill I would have liked to have seen pass the House," said Rep. Young. "However, this bill is never going to reach a full consensus with both sides in the House, and meanwhile our Nation’s children would suffer. My priority is not politicking, but making sure our children are properly cared for. At this stage in the game, this bill does what we need it to do. It provides an additional $35 billion in funding over the next five years and does not raid Medicare. It also appears to have corrected the glaring issues of the last bill in terms of granting coverage to illegal immigrants and those who can afford private insurance. "Issues such as the health and well-being of our nation’s children are nothing to play politics with and nothing to scrimp on. If SCHIP is not reauthorized by September 30th, Alaska will have no funds to pay for its program. All children on Denali KidCare will be left without coverage. I could never in good conscience let that happen, so while I’m not 100% thrilled with this bill, it does what we need it to do, and that is to take care of Alaska’s children."
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