Peaceful Revolution: What's a Key Element of Health Care Reform?

Covering the Unique Health Care Needs of Children

By now, we all know the debate over reforming our nation's health system has taken over the political discourse at home, on television, and on the internet. We are seeing a flurry of information from pundits, bloggers, and experts regarding what the American people want from health reform. So as cable news networks continue to distort the truth with insignificant online polls and choice footage from town halls, First Focus, a bipartisan children's advocacy organization, set out to determine what is really on the minds of the American public.

As Americans, one thing we all agree on is the importance of investing in the health of our nation's children. And the numbers indicate that the American public strongly believes that providing children with comprehensive benefits through health reform should be a top priority. A recent poll conducted by Lake Research Partners found that by an overwhelming 8-to-1 margin (87-11%) Americans favor ensuring all children have health care coverage, including by a 68-28% margin, even if it increases their taxes. The survey also found that the American people's top priorities for health reform are (1) controlling costs and (2) covering all children, respectively.

These findings are not surprising since these two priorities are truly complementary. Our polling demonstrates that the public recognizes what health care experts have long understood -- a major way to control long-term health care costs is by investing in comprehensive children's health care now. Americans understand that when an asthmatic child can get regular treatment, she is less likely to need emergency room care. That helps to keep the child in school and parents at work, and it helps taxpayers avoid the high cost of paying for unreimbursed emergency care and serious illnesses, which result when care is delayed.

Americans clearly recognize that providing children with immunizations and well-child visits reduces healthcare costs well into the future. In other words, for children the costs of prevention are far lower than the life-long costs of chronic illness. Americans firmly believe this rather common sense notion by a sizable 53-20% margin.

Upon receiving the results of the poll, Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research, remarked, "By overwhelming majorities, American voters want to ensure that all children have health care coverage. They also want to ensure children are not left worse off by health reform." In fact, some in Congress have proposed to eliminate the successful Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and instead move those children to a new health system under a Health Insurance Exchange, whose function and outline is still being formulated by Congress. To that end, the American public would caution Congress to be extra careful in how they proceed and to adopt a "do no harm" standard for children currently enrolled in programs such as Medicaid and CHIP.

In fact, a significant 3-1 majority (62-21%) of Americans would oppose the elimination of CHIP if they learned that the Exchange "may be more costly for families and provide fewer benefits for children." Moreover, by an almost 4-to-1 margin of 54-14%, Americans would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported a health care reform plan that reduced the level of health care coverage for children.

The message from the American people is rather simple: Covering all children is a top priority in health reform. This means that no matter what action Congress takes, they must address the unique developmental needs of children by ensuring they have comprehensive benefits that cover them from head to toe. There are no do-overs for childhood. We must get health reform right the first time by enacting legislation that improves coverage and care for our most precious resource, our children.

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

[Molesie]

It is time to invest in our future. Kids are cheap to insure. We need to guarantee their health but congress seems to have forgotten about them in this discussion. If we are not careful, CHIP could end and children will end up with fewer benefits and more out of pocket costs for care to their parents. Why do I think our children would rather pay a little more in the future for the universal health care we gave them than for the war our generation brought them? Not all spending is equal. Let's ask Congress and others to speak for the children and give them the care they all deserve. We will all benefit - today and in the future.

[UtahSLC]

Everybody cares about kids until it's time to really do something for kids. Congress and the President made a good start with the reaauthorization of CHIP this year, but now it's time to finish the job. All kids need health care 365 days a year to keep them healthy or see a doctor when they're sick. The public agrees and let's hope Congress will speak up for their youngest constituents - even though they can't vote or donate to PACs,

[Matthew Kolken]

How about this for an idea… open up real competition by allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines, and enact meaningful tort reform. Allow the free market to correct itself.

[hsr0601]

In spite of the highest annual health plan cost per employee, the revolutionary mandatory-coverage plan in Massachusetts was enacted in 2006 and more than 97% of all Massachusetts residents are now covered -- whereas nationally some 40% of Americans have no health insurance.

Even though the state is suffering financially due to the highest premiums, without the affordable public option and removing all kinds of wastes etc, it achieved near universal health program.

I think now is the time to consider sustainable power for Now and the Future as time does not fix energy depletion.

[AntonioSosa]

Obama and his accomplices were asked to improve their pitch, to appeal to our emotions, to make us swallow socialized medicine. So Obama starts going to churches to talk about our "moral obligation" to help others and now they are talking about the need to protect children!

We all want to help others and to protect children. We all want to IMPROVE our health care system. Obamacare, however, has NOTHING to do with helping others, protecting children or improving our health care system. It's just another power grab that will further hurt our children and grandchildren, destroy our health care, destroy our economy, steal from our children and grandchildren, multiply our deficit, and enslave us through lies, manipulation, intimidation and coercion.

Imitating Hugo Chavez, Obama wants to nationalize everything, including our health care system! "Hey, Obama has just nationalized nothing more and nothing less than General Motors. Comrade Obama!" Chavez cheered on Venezuelan TV. He added that he and Cuba's Fidel Castro would now have to work harder just to keep up.
http://www.hacer.org/report/2009/06/us-obamas-red-chorus-investors-business.html

[Thundrdrum]

Oh do stop lying--your tape is stuck.