Take Action Now By Calling Congress to support the Children's Health Insurance Program

The National Journal asked healthcare experts and advocates to weigh in on the reauthorization and strengthening of the Children's Health Insurance Program. SEIU's President Andy Stern's response is below:

"There is strong public support for SCHIP, and strong bipartisan consensus. Experts, pediatricians, and working families agree: The program works. The bill that is being debated this week is essentially the same bill that a veto-proof number of Senators voted for two years ago. The main difference is that this bill says that states have the option of offering coverage to children who are legal immigrants. It should be passed without delay.

"All children deserve to grow up healthy - and ear infections, chicken pox, and childhood accidents affect them all equally. Our kids are our future, and if there's one message that young voters and immigrant voters sent last November, it's that they are so over the tired appeals to categories and ideologies that divide us. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it best: "Some people want to use this as a debate over immigration," he said. "This isn't a debate over immigration. It's a debate about taking care of our children - children who are here legally."

"The current SCHIP bill includes a provision that would give states the option to enroll lawfully residing immigrant children in the program without a five-year waiting period. Hundreds of local, state, and national organizations have voiced support for the measure - including the National Governors' Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures. They all recognize the cost-effectiveness of providing access to primary and preventative care, and waiting five years to care for a child could lead to long-term ailments or developmental delays. Health does not wait five years. This arbitrary bar placed on hard-working, tax-paying legal immigrants should be lifted.

"At a time when the economy is in crisis and working families are struggling with surging health care costs, Congress should act quickly to reauthorize and strengthen SCHIP. From there, we should move quickly to tackle the other challenges we face in health care - making coverage more affordable, getting a handle on costs while promoting quality, and offering more options for small businesses, early retirees, and others who are poorly served in today's insurance market. Reauthorizing SCHIP is just the beginning. Let's start now."

The Senate is preparing to vote on this critical program tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009). Click here to call your Senators to urge them to vote for the Children's Health Insurance Program and reject any amendment that restricts coverage to legal immigrant children.