ALERT: Urge Override of Bush SCHIP Veto

George W. Bush's veto of SCHIP – the State Children's Health Insurance Program – prevents the provision of basic health coverage to nearly 4 million uninsured children in the United States.

On Thursday, October 18, the US House of Representatives will vote on overriding the President's veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 976). The Act would reauthorize SCHIP, while also improving the quality and efficiency of the entire health care system.

Background

SCHIP has significantly improved children's access to health care, and has made great strides in covering racial and ethnic minority children.

After the inception of SCHIP, the uninsured rate for African-American and Asian and Pacific Islander children dropped by half: from 20 to 12 percent and from 17 to 8 percent, respectively.

For Latino children, the uninsured rate dropped by nearly one-third, from a high of 30 percent to 21 percent.

Despite the program’s success, nine million children remain uninsured, more than five million of whom are racial and ethnic minorities. And President Bush’s solution: to veto the reauthorization act that would have added enough funding for approximately 4 million more children. We cannot let Bush's solution stand, a solution that could deny millions of children access to health care if the SCHIP program is not extended.

Call 202-224-3121 TODAY and URGE your representative to continue the bipartisan tradition of support for SCHIP and pass the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 976). Don't let Bush's veto of SCHIP stand in the way of insuring one of our country's most vulnerable populations: poor children.