Peaceful Revolution: Healthcare Coverage for Kids, Lifesavers for Families

Let's get those lifesavers out of storage!

"I never thought I would find myself in need of this program. But, I have. With my husband not working and health care benefits skyrocketing, I just can't pay for it anymore. I have applied for healthy kids insurance and I pray that my kids get the coverage. Paying $500 per month just for their coverage is no longer possible for our family. This care is so important for our children."
--Tracie C.

A refreshing moment of sanity and bi-partisan action prevailed in Washington, D.C. last month when Congress and President Obama enacted legislation that gives states additional money to provide children with healthcare coverage through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). It's a huge victory for kids and a testimony to the power of every day moms and dads to get Congress moving on issues that are crucial to families.

This critical lifesaver for families is coming not a minute too soon. Each week, hundreds of thousands of parents are losing their jobs and employer-sponsored healthcare coverage, and so are their children. Now, more than ever, families need this support.

We have much to celebrate in the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and economic recovery program. But our work is not done -- it's now up to legislators in each state to take advantage of all possible federal money to provide health coverage for kids. The federal government has provided the life preservers for our kids but they won't do us any good tucked away in storage! It's up to our state legislators to throw these lifesavers to our kids.

Now, you'd think it'd be a slam dunk...the money is available, and what legislator doesn't want more money for their state? But there may not be any slamming or dunking. California, for example, demonstrates the challenges our states face in making this promise of children's health coverage a reality. Right now, California's state healthcare program, Healthy Families, is bursting at the seams with 30,000 children enrolling every month. Yet, due to record budget deficits, the state is considering cutting essential social services and not making long-term investments such as health care coverage for kids.

We must demand that our state leaders do their part to put our kids first. If you live in California, join MomsRising.org's campaign [http://www.momsrising.org/lifesaver_messages] to send sweet and tart personalized messages to California legislators that healthcare for kids is a lifesaver for families. We're delivering these messages and real candy lifesavers to each and every state legislator. To participate, all you need to do is sign on to our message, "Healthcare coverage for kids is a lifesaver for families! Do your part to ensure healthcare coverage for all kids."

The federal government has given our states an opportunity to cover uninsured kids and bring badly-needed federal funds into our states. Now, we must make sure that our state leaders take advantage of this opportunity to move kids' health care forward.

A Peaceful Revolution is a blog about innovative ideas to strengthen America's families through public policies, business practices, and cultural change. Done in collaboration with MomsRising.org, read a new post here each week.

Comments

[TRUE BLUE AMERICAN]

"We must demand that our state leaders do their part to put our kids first. What a crock. California is a perfect example how entitlements and progressive socialism destroys a state. How about you(parents) do your part to provide for your kids. Stop buying all luxury items from brand name soda, beer and fancy toilet paper. Sell all your high price televisions, cell phones and cars and replace only what you need with cheaper products.It's called sacrificing for your children and country. The government(the people) has absolutely no obligation to provide heathcare for anyone.
Grow up and do whatever is needed to make things happen, don't rely on the government.

[waitforme]

"Stop buying all luxury items from brand name soda, beer and fancy toilet paper."

You forgot potato chips, the most expensive, bad-for-you non-food item in the grocery store (next to Coke and Pepsi both sugared and 'diet' -- both will cause a heart attack).

BUT -- BUT IF the government DOES NOT provide health care for everyone (just as it provides fire department care and police department care and fix-the-streets care) people will continue to go broke with the back-breaking fees to health insurance companies (which use 1/3 of that for profits, CEOs bonuses, and unnecessary bureaucracy) and the costs of health care which they can't afford -- or continue to die due to being jettisoned from a health insurance plan.

What we need is national, universal health insurance coverage for all. Exactly like Medicare for people over 65 or the disabled. But we need it for everybody. When children get good medical care -- paid for -- that is great! But when their parents are sick and die the children don't have parents to take care of them. That is bad. parents, everyone who falls in the middle, need to have -- not just 'affordable health care', which eats up most of their salaries, but paid-for health care like in most European countries and Canada. That is the only thing that makes spiritual, physical and economic sense!

[sloppyJoe]

I have been taking my 74 year old father in law around on his doctor vists this last month and it was a real eye opener into the health crisis we face. He is old, has a bad heart, diabetes, and PAD. Yet they test this poor guy for everything over and over. Today we're going in for a kidney ultrasound. His wife just goes along with every test because she's of the generation that the doctor is always right. The last doctor wants to put stints(?) in his legs to improve blood flow, even though his bad heart makes it impossible for him to walk much anyway. I'm an outcome orientated kind of guy so I asked the doctor what he possibly hoped to do for Norm and he said maybe nothing but we need the tests to decide for sure. Every clinic is gorgeous. More people working there than patients everytime by a good 4 to 1 ratio. Seems to me like there is an unbalance of coverage....if we didn't spend so much on trying to undo the natural progression of time on the body, we may be able to serve more young people. My in-laws have good insurance and a willingness to do whatever the doctor tells them. It's starting to make me think they are just easy targets for some of these doctors.

[Bethab]

"We must demand that our state leaders do their part to put our kids first"

No...we must demand that our state leaders do their part to ensure health care for EVERYONE. Kids are not more important than any other human being!! ENOUGH!

[PlaceboStudman]

Amen. I'm fed up, sick and tired of people talking about "Universal health care", then going about promoting a system that will only benefit the healthiest of its citizens.

That is NOT universal health care, that is elitist health care, with the implication that the feeble elderly (alzheimers and dementia) or the chronically ill (cancer, lukemia) or the millions with congenital birth defects (MD, MS, CP, Spina Bifida) have no place in this world of super human charles atlas mutants that are worried about "preventative care" and not worried about treating conditions that already exist

[PlaceboStudman]

And yet again, another article on health care (which should be more accurately be renamed health cost) that says not a single word about the critically and chronically ill children that are born in this country

It must be nice to live in the feel good Mr Roger's Neighborhood where everyone is expected to live into your 80's with nothing more to worry about but a broken arm or a stubbed toe, usually brought on by your own or someone else's carelessness.

[Cynthia Porter]

If the Federal gov. has made it sooo all these children have health care,why was my son who is on unemployment is a family of 4,taken off health insurance & was left with $ 160.00 per month of food stamps from Job & Family service,Why Why Why,is this??????He brings home after taxes from unemployment $6.00 0ver the line!!!!!!!!!Yes $6.00!!!!!!!!!!!! He has always worked & paid into this,so why is he being dumped,some people have never worked or paid into this & they get it all.So what is right.You do for one the other should be taken care of also.