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National Catholic Leaders Call on Congress to Fully Fund and Strengthen Child Health Insurance Program |
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As the Senate Finance Committee works on reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the leaders of three national Catholic organizations have called on Congress to strengthen and improve the vital federal health program. In a letter to Senate Finance Committee, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), and Catholic Charities USA urged Congress to strengthen SCHIP so that all children eligible for the program get health care they deserve. As a result of SCHIP, millions of children now have coverage that enables them to get health care they need, when they need it. But there are still almost nine million uninsured children in our country, two-thirds of whom are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid but not enrolled,⬠the Catholic organizations wrote. In their letter, the Catholic leaders urged Senators to use the $50 billion that has been approved for SCHIP reauthorization over the next five years by the 2008 budget resolution to BOTH maintain coverage for those children currently in SCHIP and allow states to enroll the almost six million uninsured children who are eligible for SHCIP or Medicaid. Catholic Charities USA's members -- more than 1,700 local agencies and institutions nationwide provide help and create hope for more than 7.1 million people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. For more than 275 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing.
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