Rep. Tiberi: "What Every Ohioan Needs To Know About the State Children’s Health Insurance Program Bill"

Thursday evening the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a Democratic Bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The program was created in 1997 by Congressman Pat Tiberi’s predecessor John Kasich as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. The original intent of this program was noble, to provide health insurance coverage to uninsured children from low-income families that did not qualify for Medicaid. Congressman Tiberi supports providing healthcare for these children because every child deserves to grow up in the best health possible. But the reauthorization bill that was voted on Thursday night would expand the program far beyond its original intent to cover already insured children and children from middle class families. To pay for this increase, Democrats balloon spending for this program and slash Medicare benefits for Ohio’s seniors. While Congressman Tiberi voted against the bill, it passed the House by a vote of 225-204. Now that the bill is one step closer to becoming law, it’s time for every Ohioan to know what is included in this Democratic measure.

More than 13,000 Central Ohio seniors in Congressman Tiberi’s District could face Medicare cuts. Every representative that voted for SCHIP, voted to cut Medicare benefits to our nation’s seniors in order to pay for the SCHIP expansion. This bill pits Ohio’s seniors, against Ohio’s children and that’s not good policy. If this bill becomes law, nearly 294,000 seniors across the state could face cuts in their Medicare benefits.

Covers children whose families earn more than $80,000 dollars a year. While the SCHIP expansion would take Medicare benefits away from seniors, this bill would cover children from middle class families. Some states have expanded their programs so much, the health insurance can cover family members, and even adults who have no children. In four states, more adults are enrolled in SCHIP than children.

While our nation’s seniors rely on Medicare, often as their only health insurance coverage, the Congressional Budget Office “predicts that an additional 2.1 million children who would have had private coverage would get SCHIP instead." While cuts to Medicare may include higher co-pays, a loss in specific health care benefits, less quality and fewer choices of programs and doctors, millions of children who are already covered under another health plan would switch to government, taxpayer funded healthcare.

The SCHIP Expansion includes a stealth tax increase, hitting everyone that has health insurance coverage. Democrats included the creation of a research program in the SCHIP bill to be paid for out of raids on the Medicare Trust Fund and by a new mandatory tax on health insurance companies. The $285 million tax increase on health insurance companies will be passed along to every single person who already has health insurance.

Even though tobacco use is decreasing every year, the SCHIP Expansion is paid for by a new tax on tobacco products, which will produce less and less revenue every year. According to an analysis by the Heritage Foundation, to produce enough money to pay for the SCHIP expansion, 22.4 million new smokers are needed by 2017.

With increased negative reports about the Democratic SCHIP Expansion, Democrats brought the bill to the Floor for a vote, but did not allow any amendments to improve the bill. Republicans tried to use a procedural maneuver to block cuts to Medicare and the new stealth tax on health insurance, while continuing to fund current SCHIP programs. Their effort failed.