Rep. Wasserman Schultz Applauds Expansion of Health Care for 11 Million Children – An additional 290,000 uninsured children in Florida can obtain health care coverage

(Washington, DC)  —  Rep. Wasserman Schultz today joined a majority in the House of Representatives in support of the final version of bipartisan legislation to provide health care to 11 million children in modest-income families. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act was approved by a vote of 290-135. Passage by the House today sent the bill to the White House for President Obama to sign it into law. Rep. Wasserman Schultz joined the President and other members of Congress at the White House for this historic legislation.

“After three years of working with my colleagues and community organizations, I am very pleased that President Obama will be signing this important legislation providing health insurance for 11 million children,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “This is the same legislation that President Bush vetoed twice in the last Congress. Providing health coverage for America’s children is an important step toward restoring the American dream for millions of Americans who were left behind in the Bush years.”

“No child in Davie or Miami or anywhere throughout our nation should ever go without medical care,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “I am proud that today we took action to improve the health for 11 million children and reduce the much more costly use of emergency rooms for primary care. Today’s passage of this legislation moves us closer to providing every child in our nation with affordable, high-quality health care.”

In Florida, The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is called KidCare. SCHIP was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage for children in families that earn too little to afford health insurance for their children themselves but too much to qualify for Medicaid. The legislation will give states the resources and incentives necessary to reach and cover millions of uninsured children who are currently eligible for, but not enrolled in, SCHIP and Medicaid.

The expansion of SCHIP has been endorsed by dozens of organizations, representing millions of Americans – ranging from business groups such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses and Business Roundtable, to the American Hospital Association to such groups as AARP and Families USA.

This bill reauthorizes the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY 2013. It preserves the coverage for all 7.1 million children currently covered by SCHIP, including preserving the coverage of 323,529 children in Florida’s KidCare Program. It also provides coverage for 4.1 million uninsured children who are currently eligible for, but not enrolled in, SCHIP and Medicaid, including an additional 290,000 children in Florida. Roughly 797,000 children in Florida are currently uninsured. If fully utilized, this legislation will result in a 36 percent decline in the number of uninsured children in Florida.

The bill is fully paid for – raising the tobacco tax by 62 cents. Raising the tobacco tax also promotes children’s health – by discouraging children, and their parents, from smoking. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a 62-cent increase in the tobacco tax means that nearly 1.9 million fewer children will take up smoking.

“Covering more eligible children is not only the right thing to do – it makes good economic sense for taxpayers who will not foot the bill for costlier problems down the road,” pointed out Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “In addition, a healthy child is better prepared for learning and success.”

“With rising unemployment, this children’s health bill is more critical than ever,” concluded Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “In this recession, more and more American parents are losing employer-sponsored health care for their children. The need for this legislation is growing every day.”