An open letter

august 7, 2007

the honorable norm coleman

united states senate

sdb 40, suite 3

washington, d. c. 20510

dear senator coleman,

i am writing to ask you to support the current senate compromise to fund s-chip for low income families. s-chip is a very successful program that has broad support among state governors from both parties. this program serves the needs of children and families. access to affordable health care is a strong predictor for academic success for children and future economic success in our increasingly complex economy. with the strong emphasis on consistent preventative services s-chip yields real benefits to the health and productivity of all americans. i have found the following documents and charts useful in formulating my own thoughts about the value of s-chip.

source: http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/health.htm

according to cbpp:

between 1997 and 2005, the percentage of children who are uninsured fell from 23 to 14 percent, even though the percentage of children with private health coverage declined during this period. the reason for this progress was the increased enrollment of low-income children in schip and medicaid.

source: http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/health.htm .

s-chip is a private insurance program run through a combination of state and federal dollars. this program is a bargain for the taxpayers in the sense that it provides a basic framework of guaranteed preventive services which tend to reduce future health care expenditures. according to cbpp.org:

benefits and standards. all children covered by medicaid and schip receive relatively comprehensive health benefits, including preventive and primary medical care, inpatient and outpatient care, laboratory and x-ray services, prescription drugs, and immunizations. almost all publicly-insured children have coverage for dental, vision and mental health care. (medicaid standards are more rigorous and require that these services be available for children. they are not required in schip, but most states do cover them.)

http://www.cbpp.org/5-11-07health.htm

as s-chip has met the common public interest of reducing the numbers of children with inadequate or no health insurance it is good public policy to support the extension and expansion of this program to an additional 800,000 children. minnesota voters are in support of extension of this program. i realize that president bush is threatening a veto of this bill but your support may change his mind in a positive direction to meet the pressing health needs of lower income children and their families.