Childrens Health Plan SCHIP Renewed By Senate
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The Children's Health Insurance Program renewal passed in the United States Senate recently, and the some Republicans let it be known they disagreed. However, if there is any one position that should be considered morally and politically correct, it is that all children should have health care protection. That's the bottom line. Since 1997 the SCHIP program has continued to provide coverage to millions of children who need medical care. This last renewal marks the third time Congress has approved an SCHIP bill.
The third time is apparently the charm for greater expansion. President Obama is expected to sign the bill which was approved by both houses of Congress. The Senate passed the SCHIP bill by a lopsided 66 to 32 vote, but that didn't make certain Republicans feel any better, as partisan politics continued to reign in Washington.
It seems the sticking point for Republicans was a provision that allowed some legal immigrants to enroll in SCHIP. GOP lawmakers wanted to keep the law as-is, which forces legal immigrants to wait five years before they become eligible. In the last expansion bill, lawmakers compromised and omitted the immigrant provision, but with a strong majority and a Democratic president, the Senate Democrats re-added it.
Apparently the debate about the provision got a bit heated in the chamber. The addition of the provision was a slap in the face to those who worked strongly with friends on the other side, was a concern voiced by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. He believed the bill could have had 95 votes which would have sent a tremendous message that hasnt been seen in Congress for a long time.
Democrats saw it a bit differently.The bottom line is: This is a debate about childrens health coverage. This is not a debate about immigration, said Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois. A familiar argument also came from the Republican side in the debate when Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi questioned, Is the real intent of this legislation to replace the private health care system with a government-run health care system? Partisan health insurance politics is here stay it seems.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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