The initiative calls on the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) to identify qualified, uninsured children who are not enrolled in the program and enroll them in addition to enrolling children who may not qualify.
The Children’s Health First Act would allow “states to expand children’s health coverage to families up to 400 percent of the Federal poverty level (which is $70,000 for a family of three) through SCHIP and receive increased federal payments,” according to the release.
APN was unable to obtain information from the Clinton campaign about how the senator feels about a single-payer health system.
WILL THE REAL UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE PLEASE STAND UP?
"Universal health care is a misnomer," Valenti said. "From the far Right to whatever, people are talking about health insurance for all [but that] doesn’t mean we are all talking about the same thing."
"Alternative [plans] to single-payer do not provide universal coverage," she added.
"Keeping insurance companies in will not work," Rece said. "They are buying candidates. They are making profits. That’s what they are in it for."
In his 2007 State of the Union address, President Bush even outlined his proposal for helping the uninsured and under-insured but many analysts believe his proposal will receive little play in Congress.
"The value of your employer-paid health insurance will be subject to income taxes. Uncle Sam will see this as a part of your income, even though you didn't get a pay raise. On top of that, you'll get a big fat tax deduction, which could cover part or all of it - for now," CNN Money analyst Gerri Willis wrote January 24, 2007.
"The good news is for people who don't have health insurance coverage. They'll get a deduction for buying their own insurance," Willis wrote. Of course, deductions are not helpful to the poor who don’t owe income taxes.
Some experts argue that because of the tax breaks people would receive for purchasing their own plans, employers would feel less incentive to provide their employees with health care.
But despite its likely failure, the president’s plan "could put more pressure on Congress to pursue serious health care reform," Willis writes.
"Everybody recognizes that employer based insurance doesn’t work because so few offer it anymore, job security is tenuous, and there is much more contract and temporary labor," Valenti said.
REVISITING HR 676
US Rep. Conyers introduced the bill to the 110th Congress January 24, 2007, and it now has 61 total cosponsors, including Reps. US John Lewis and Hank Johnson of Georgia.
There are already new cosponsors who did not sign up last time. However, as noted earlier there were 79 total cosponsors at the end of the last Congressional Session.
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