All you Sam Bennett supporters out there, both of you, pay attention to his. U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent has just voted for H.R. 2, a bill to extend and improve the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This bill was created on the federal level in 1997 and modeled after Pennsylvania’s successful Children’s Health Insurance Program.The legislation passed reauthorizes SCHIP for another four and a half years and invest an additional $35 billion over the next five years to provide for 11 million low-income children, including four million kids who are currently eligible but not enrolled.
Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program provides health insurance to 184,000 children, including approximately 10,000 kids right here in the Lehigh Valley. I kow because my grandson is one of them.
Through the program, parents who meet certain income eligibility requirements are able to purchase affordable and comprehensive health insurance for their kids. SCHIP ensures that all children in Pennsylvania have access to important care such as routine check-ups, immunizations and prescription drugs. My grandson has epilepsy, and thanks to SCHIP, he gets the medical attention he needs to keep seizures at a minimum. As all parents know, it is vital for our nation’s future that we remain committed to the health and welfare of our children.
Nationwide, nearly 9.4 million children under the age of 19 are uninsured. Although the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance estimates that more than 95 percent of children in the Commonwealth are insured, there are still 138,560 that do not have health insurance coverage.
“As the fourth state to establish a CHIP initiative in 1992, Pennsylvania has always been on the front lines in helping working families secure health coverage for their children,” Congressman Dent said. “Pennsylvania’s program has been extremely successful and I have been proud to support it both on the state and federal level. The bill we considered today will allow Pennsylvania to continue striving to ensure that every child has health insurance. Particularly at a time when many people have lost their jobs and their healthcare coverage, this legislation is critical to making sure that all children have access to quality health care.”
Throughout the 110th Congress, the House and Senate worked to develop a comprehensive reauthorization of SCHIP that would improve the program by reaching more of the core-targeted population of low-income children. Despite strong bipartisan support, the efforts to enact a long-term reauthorization were unsuccessful.
H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, passed the House with Congressman Dent's support by a vote of 289 to 139. The Senate will consider their version of the SCHIP Reauthorization as early as next week. President-Elect Obama has expressed his desire to sign an SCHIP Reauthorization bill into law shortly after he takes office next week.
When my grandson meets Congrssman Dent, he's going to thank him.
15 comments:
Dent only voted this way because he knows that Sam Bennett is watching! (Tongue firmly in cheek.)
Hey, Is it true what I heard that Bennett tried to get tickets to the inauguration by having Joe Long, of all people, request them from Congressman Dent?
Wouldn't surprise me in the least.
What I heard is that Long requested over 200 tickets even though Dent only gets 190.
Charlie Dent is a real profile in courage - with liberal Republicans like this who needs Democrats? Thanks for voting to raise taxes to fund a feelgood welfare program for kids with parents who make up to $80k per year.
Anonymous 9:35
You hit the nail on the head. Everytime we do something like this the only thing that is accomplished is a rise in cost. I love kids. My four grandchildren are better then any other grandchildren. I don't want so see them straddled with another program that places a burden on them. We are in the process, Obama went to the Senate yesterday for another trillion, of bankrupting this nation. Our grandkids will be looking at the lose of 80%-90% of their income to pay off this debt.
None of this is necessary if we go back to being a capitalist economy
Chris Miller you are delusional.
We haven't been in a "capitalist" economy for decades.
We are in a corporate economy.
Anything for business and screw the rest of us.
That has been your basic Republican philosophy thanks to Reagan,two Bushes and even Clinton.
Time for a change.
Let's see if the Morning call covers the inauguration and the trip to the festivities by that blowhard Sam Bennett.
Bet she goes and tries to convince anybody who will listen that she has clout with Obama because she was the Democratic candidate for Congress.
Even Charlie gets it right..now and then! I voted for him and he has paid off already! Dent for Senator!
Anonymous 11:08
You are correct in that we have not had capitalism since Teddy Roosevelt signed the Sherman Anti-Trust act into law. Teddy was our first Progressive president and a major supporter of the unions.
What we truly have is what is known as a mixed economy. This is a combination of Capitalism and Socialism. Unfortunately socialism is winning. Jonah Goldberg referred to is as a "smiley faced fascism". At the rate we are going our grandchildren who will be saddled with this debt, Obama asked for another $trillion, will be paying taxes in the 80%-90% range. We need to do something about that because we are to blame for what is going on. Why would we saddle the future of our grandchildren with this massive debt.
As for being delusional, well you might want to do some research and check the facts instead of hurling spit balls. Name calling is a tactic used by the Progressive.
Barry Hussein is about to blow $160 million during "the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," and while his nation prosecutes two wars.
Big Spender Barry makes SCHIP and its mission look like a silly crumb tossing exercise. He's more elite than any of the last four clowns.
Put on another blanket kids. Barry needs a big bash.
Dent voted reasonably, not like some ideologue. He has common sense, and that's why people admire him. My grandson will be sure to thank Charlies when he gets to meet him. He also thanks the people of this country, who make it possible for him to get the treatment he could not otherwise afford for seizures.
Bernie
I hate to disagree with you on this but I believe that we actually increase the cost of medical services with programs like this. The public becomes less charitable because they view the government as the payor for all problems.
I had a brother and sister who died from a rare blood disease similar to lukemia. My sister died very quickly while my brother lived four years with the disease. Mike was treated at Bryn Mahr Hospital outside Philly. We made numerous trips. I know little about how dad paid the bills. He probably had health insurance. I do know that from time to time he took a troop of friends to the hospital to make a blood donation for all the blood transfusions my brother needed. This accounted for some of the payment. Today you can't get people to drive to their local blood bank to give a pint of blood.
I honestly believe we would be better off if we did not have all these programs. I believe they drive up costs and make people less charitable. I also get a bit perturbed at a program like this because, if I remember correctly, it is funded by a tax on tobacco, a regressive tax. One day we will no longer have a tobacco industry then who pays? Don't misunderstant, I believe we need to assist those like your grandson but we have to find a better way to do it. How about cutting taxes so people can afford to pay their bills? How about cutting the minimum wage so all people can get a job. There is a lot that can be done but we don't seem to want to do it.
Chris Miller is right, these programs make us less charitable.
Thanks for the factual history lesson.
If the economy is in such bad shape, why doesn't Obama take some of his record campaign donations and record inauguration donations and spread some of it around to help out.
Or DID he spread it around and help people out already? (tongue definitely in cheek)
Nice post. I like that the SCHIP bill passed, though.
Post a Comment