Nearly 11,000 in State of New Jersey to Lose Coverage if Veto Stands

From the Asbury Park Press:

When the House votes today to override President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007, three New Jersey Republican congressmen, Jim Saxton, Scott Garrett and Rodney Frelinghuysen, may provide the pivotal votes needed by bill sponsors to ensure that all 122,000 New Jersey children currently assisted by the program keep their coverage...

A vote against this essential program will not only have a fiscal impact on New Jersey but, far worse, will punish the nearly 11,000 of our state's children who would lose coverage if the proposed guidelines are adopted. The program seeks to provide assistance for children whose parents, quite frequently, cannot obtain coverage from their employers or afford to buy it on their own.

The SCHIP Reauthorization Act of 2007 increases funding for the children's health program by $35 billion over the next five years. This investment in children's health will allow more than 6 million children who are already enrolled in the program to continue their coverage, but, more important, it will allow an additional 4 million children to enroll.

Congressmen from New Jersey have an added reason to vote for the override. In our state, where health care costs are especially high, we have been aggressive in trying to expand coverage to lower middle-income children, not just the near poor who are the chief national targets. New Jersey has the highest income-eligibility threshold of any state, but we also have the highest cost of living. It is one of the few programs that returns needed federal dollars back to our beleaguered taxpayers, who consistently rank last in federal dollars returned from Washington. That alone should motivate our congressional delegation.

New Jersey's program, called FamilyCare, provides health services to more than 122,525 children and 89,050 adults. It costs the state $480 million per year, with $312 million paid for by the federal government. Failure to override the president's veto would force the state to spend an estimated $88 million more to ensure children aren't cut.

Good for the Asbury Park Press for calling this what this is: This will not bankrupt our great nation. It is not "the first step" toward nationalized health care. It will not undercut any of our prosperous insurance companies' books of business. It is not part of the Iraq debate. It is simply a selfish bunch of people feeling entitled while others should not. We are truly a country of the haves and have nots. The haves have not interest in treating the have nots as Americans.