Letter: President supports insurance for kids

Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun's Sept. 25 editorial on the State Children's Health Insurance Program:

President Bush strongly supports SCHIP as a way to help children whose families cannot afford private health insurance but do not qualify for Medicaid. In fact, since February he has been calling for a 20 percent increase in funding for the program.

Unfortunately, some in Congress want to expand this important safety net far beyond its purpose. Their plan would encourage middle-class families - some earning more than $80,000 a year - to move their children from private health insurance to this public assistance program. They would finance this expansion of government-run health care by imposing new taxes on those who can least afford it.

We have a better idea. First, let us find and enroll the 900,000 kids already eligible for SCHIP who haven't signed up. Then let us make health insurance more affordable for all Americans. For starters, Bush wants to give every American family a $15,000 tax break for purchasing health insurance. According to the Lewin Group, the president's plan would allow 20 million more Americans to obtain health insurance.

The administration is committed to working with Congress to renew the SCHIP program and make health coverage more affordable and available to all Americans.

Tevi D. Troy, Washington