CHAMP Act Passes, 225-204
Insuring America's children is an affordable goal. It costs less than $3.50 a day -- about the cost of a Starbucks Frappuccino - to cover a child through CHIP. Since the CHIP program began in 1997, the number of children without health insurance has fallen by one-third. Currently, six million children have health care because of CHIP. This legislation will provide health care coverage to five million uninsured children who are eligible for but not currently enrolled in CHIP--bringing the total of insured children to 11 million.
The CHAMP Act also protects Medicare from privatization and promotes fiscal responsibility by reducing overpayments to private plans. Existing overpayments to private plans cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. According to non-partisan analysts, private plans are paid, on average, 12% more than traditional Medicare -- and overpayments to certain plans exceed 50%. These overpayments are the result of a decade-long campaign by President Bush and Republicans in Congress to privatize Medicare by undermining traditional Medicare and promoting private insurance. Republicans believe that the greater the number of beneficiaries enrolled in private plans, the easier it will be to privatize Medicare.
Speaker Pelosi's remarks on the House floor:
When I was sworn in as Speaker, I was surrounded by children. It was exhilarating, and I called the House of Representatives to order on behalf of all of America's children, establishing this chamber as the champion for our children and for the future.Our legislation is called CHAMP because it does just that. It champions quality health care for America's children and for our seniors, strengthening families. It is just one way that this New Direction Congress is putting health care, and particularly the needs of our children, at the top of the nation's agenda.
With the passage of this legislation, the New Direction Congress will ensure that 11 million of America's children receive health care coverage and seniors will see improved benefits under Medicare.
This legislation will help millions of American children and seniors live better lives. SCHIP, created a decade ago by a Republican Congress and a Democratic President, has dramatically reduced the number of poor, uninsured children in America. The legislation before us today will improve SCHIP and the lives of millions of working families in America by improving coverage for all 6 million children currently enrolled under SCHIP, insured under SCHIP, extending that coverage to 5 million additional children.
Those children will receive dental care, and thanks to Congressman Patrick Kennedy, mental health services. Dental care, which we take for granted for our own children. But after this legislation passed, no more will we have a Deamonte Driver, that 12-year-old boy from Maryland who died because he had an abscessed tooth that turned into a brain infection. We're all familiar with the details of that sad story. Today we are doing something about it.