"Manzullo Supports Health Care for Needy Children, Opposes Bill that Threatens Benefits"

WASHINGTON -- Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) voted today against legislation that could threaten the quality of health care for millions of children by crowding them out of high-quality, employer-paid health insurance plans in favor of government-run health care that limits medical choices.

The legislation is a Democrat leadership attempt to massively expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Manzullo supports the reauthorization of the current SCHIP program that provides health care benefits to 6 million of our nation's neediest children. But he opposes the expansion bill that would provide taxpayer-funded health care benefits to children of families earning up to $83,000. The expansion bill (H.R. 2) also would:

Provide an incentive to move 2.4 million children out of high-quality private health insurance plans when employers learn they no longer have to pay the benefits to 20 employees whose children qualify for government health care, according to a non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study.

Continue to provide taxpayer-funded health care coverage for up to 780,000 adults until at least 2012 while 500,000 poor children continue to go uncovered, according to the CBO.

Make it easier for illegal immigrants to get taxpayer-funded benefits by eliminating ID verification in the current program.

Fund the $73 billion expansion bill with an increase in the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents per pack, requiring 22 million Americans to start smoking the next several years to meet the revenue projections, according to a Heritage Foundation study. The opposite will occur and people will stop smoking because of the tax increase, leaving the expanded program with huge revenue shortfalls.

Create a budgetary gimmick by dropping 65 percent of SCHIP funding in 4 1/2 years, requiring more tax increases or cuts elsewhere to continue the program.

Limits health care choices for seniors by banning new physician-owned hospitals (similar to the Mayo and Cleveland Clinic) from participating in the Medicare program and places severe restrictions on the expansion of existing hospitals.

Last Monday, Manzullo co-signed a letter to the Speaker and President-elect Obama urging them to work in a bipartisan manner to draft a SCHIP reauthorization bill that places a priority on serving eligible low-income children first, protects private insurance options, establishes a stable funding source, and prevents benefits from going to illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, that request fell on deaf ears. As an alternative, Manzullo voted for a motion to H.R. 2 that incorporates these suggestions and extends the current SCHIP program through 2015 by putting poor kids first.

"I strongly support the extension of the existing SCHIP program that helps provide health care to our neediest children, but the bloated Democrat bill over-promises and under-delivers," Manzullo said. "It would provide taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants, increase taxes, cut senior's access to some hospitals, continue to cover up to 780,000 adults while 500,000 poor children go uncovered, and actually cause many families in America to lose their high-quality private health insurance in exchange for government-run health care.

"Social Security is short by $13 trillion and Medicaid and Medicare are already stretched. This massive expansion of SCHIP would shortchange these existing health care programs and continue the raid on the incomes of our children and grandchildren. I care about our future generations and don't believe we are doing them any favors today by saddling them with these huge costs in the future," Manzullo added.

For more information, please contact Rich Carter at 815-394-1231.