 "Photo:")
Children's health-care advocates want Gov. Rick Perry and Texas legislators to use $469 million in federal relief funds for the full restoration of the Children's Health Insurance Program's benefits.
The program, which began providing coverage on May 1, 2000, was designed to provide insurance to families who do not qualify for Medicaid but do not earn enough to pay for their own health insurance.
All children enrolled in CHIP have lost dental, vision, hospice and partial mental health services after the Texas Legislature approved a bill that cut funding to the program last September.
Neither the bill's author, Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth, R-Burleson, nor the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, returned calls late Thursday afternoon.
The $469 million in federal funds could be allocated to the program immediately with the approval of the Legislative Budget Board.
"Sick children can't learn," said Texas Federation of Teachers President John Cole. "A child with a throbbing earache, a raw burning rash or an aching tooth will have a hard time paying attention."
Local Texas counties will lose nearly $500 million in federal matching dollars if the money goes unspent.
"It just doesn't make sense to give up half a billion dollars that could help communities all over the state meet the health-care needs of their own local children," said Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe. "We don't want our tax dollars to go to New York or Illinois or any other county. We want that money here in Texas."
Enrollment to the program has dropped by nearly 119,000 children since cuts were approved, representing a 23-percent de-crease. Enrollment will decrease by 169,000 more by 2005, said Patti Everett, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund of Texas.
Children who are uninsured use emergency rooms more as their primary source of medical assistance, leaving less space available for other emergencies, Everett said.
"The point is that children who have insurance get their medical care through prevention," she said. "You get sicker, and you're more likely to use the emergency room, which is not its purpose."
Emergency room use was cut in half among families who had insurance through CHIP and Medicaid, Everett said.
"When children show up to the emergency room, the county picks up the tab," Biscoe said.
More than 1,200 organizations and individuals have signed on the Campaign to Restore CHIP.
"We in Texas have the highest rate of uninsured children in the U.S.," said Dr. Anthony Kimbrough, of Texas Medical Association and Texas Pediatric Society. "With the decrease of CHIP, it will be even worse."
The CHIP advocates' conference was part of a statewide campaign. Advocates in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Rio Grande Valley and El Paso also held news conferences.
"We are continuing to seek families who are affected by the cut and organizations who favor the restoration, because they understand the effects," Everett said.
Be the first to comment on this article!