Editorial: Imperiling health

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

President Bush stands ready to veto legislation that would expand a health insurance program for poor families, a veto that would leave millions of American children without coverage by the end of the month.

Bush opposes expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance program, a federal-state program that provides health coverage for low-income working families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private coverage. The program is set to expire Sunday .

The bipartisan proposal to renew the program, which currently serves 6.6 million children, seeks to add 4 million by increasing the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents per pack to raise $35 billion over the next five years. The House is to vote on the measure today , and the Senate is to vote Wednesday. Most Democrats and a significant number of Republicans support the legislation.

Bush opposes expanding the program because, he says, it would provide government-funded coverage to children who have private health insurance or whose families can afford private coverage.

But that isn't how this proposal would work. The additional recipients are to be the millions of children whose parents work but still cannot afford private health insurance. As we noted in an editorial earlier this month, U.S. Census figures show that 1 in 5 children living in poverty lacks health insurance.

Bush's assault on extending government coverage to these children is relentless.

This summer, the administration quietly enacted new eligibility rules that severely limit the manner in which states can offer the existing children's health insurance program coverage. State administrators for the program say the new requirements are unrealistic and cannot be met.

The federal government provides health insurance coverage to anyone - regardless of income - who is at least 65 years old. Yet the president wants to deny coverage that is being offered to the children of the nation's poorest families. It is, simply, despicable.