Lawmakers back decision
Officials oppose expansion of children's insurance program
Officials oppose expansion of children's insurance program

By Chris Casteel

Published: October 18, 2007

WASHINGTON — Republican House members from Oklahoma plan to vote today to uphold President Bush's veto of legislation expanding the children's health insurance program, in part because they say it would provide coverage to some families with relatively high incomes.

But in 2003, three of the Oklahoma members who oppose the children's health insurance bill voted for a Medicare prescription drug program that subsidizes even the wealthiest seniors.

Reps. Tom Cole, R-Moore; Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne; and John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, voted for President Bush's Medicare prescription drug plan in 2003. Reps. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City; and Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, were not in Congress at the time.

The prescription drug bill provided extra help to the poorest seniors but did not include means testing for higher-income beneficiaries.

President Bush has argued repeatedly that the State Children's Health Insurance Program, referred to as SCHIP, shouldn't be expanded to include families whose incomes are above $80,000.

Cole said Wednesday that Republicans would not have been able to pass the prescription drug program in 2003 if it would have included means-testing. Cole said the AARP backed the GOP bill but would have withdrawn its support if the subsidies had been based on income.

"The AARP didn't like any means-testing at all,” he said.

An AARP spokesman did not return a phone call Wednesday. However, the AARP has come out against Bush's recent means-testing proposal for the drug plan.

Cole said, "I do think people making $150,000 a year should be paying a whole lot more than someone making $15,000 or $20,000.”

However, Cole said, "Comparing the Medicare prescription drug benefit to SCHIP is like comparing apples to oranges. Medicare is, and always has been, a program that is available to all Americans of a certain age. There is no support for means testing Medicare or Social Security because all American workers paid into those programs. SCHIP, on the other hand, was always intended to serve our neediest children — not adults or the children of families who can afford their own insurance.”

The program covers about 6.6 million children. Supporters of the expansion say it would cover an additional 4 million.

Under the bill vetoed by Bush, the five-year children's insurance program's expansion would be paid for with an increase of 61 cents per pack in the federal tax on cigarettes, though congressional budget estimates have concluded that revenue won't ultimately cover the cost.

Though the Senate passed the expansion with enough Republican votes to override a veto, the House is expected to fall far short today.

Supporters have been holding rallies this week and trying to knock down some of the arguments used against it, including that the bill would cover children in families with annual incomes above $83,000 (which is four times the poverty level for a family of four).

Under the program, states determine eligibility. The large majority of states, including Oklahoma, cover families with incomes that are twice the poverty level or below.

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