House must pass CHIP reauthorization bill

We write to commend Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, for the courageous role he is playing in congressional negotiations around reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program. From the start, we knew we were working toward a bipartisan bill. Since its inception in 1997, CHIP has stood for the best that bipartisanship has to offer. In reaching his long arm across the aisle to Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., then and working with Senate Democrats now, Hatch embodies the spirit of bipartisanship and not without cost to his relationships with President Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.

The president is entirely serious about his threat to veto the delicate CHIP reauthorization package. Contrary to Hatch, the president is perfectly willing to play politics with children's lives. We commend Hatch for standing up for Utah's children and encourage Republican Reps. Chris Cannon and Rob Bishop, and Rep. Jim Matheson, a Democrat, to follow his bold example.

The crisis of rising health-care costs impacts all Americans, but it hits our children hardest. Most small-business owners want to cover their employees; but when they can no longer handle double-digit premium increases, the first thing they drop is family coverage. That children are the first victims of our complacency around the crisis of rising health-care costs doesn't speak well for our values as a community. If it weren't for CHIP, children would be even more adversely affected.

As states across the nation take up the challenge of covering their uninsured, CHIP (and Medicaid) will need to play a huge role in making coverage affordable and filling in gaps in private coverage. Utah is poised to be the next state to embark on significant health-care reform. Whether these reforms succeed or fail will largely depend on how inclusive they are and how affordable coverage is for working families. The bipartisan compromise gives states like Utah the flexibility needed to use CHIP (or Medicaid) to subsidize premiums for working families.

Utah needs a robust reauthorization package. The Senate bill makes a good step toward that goal, but as a nation, we can do even more. We urge Utah's representatives in the House to build on that good start by passing a strong CHIP reauthorization bill and preparing to override the promised veto.

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The Utah Health Policy Project crafted this piece on behalf of more than two dozen organizations and individuals.