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AAFP Statement: President Bush’s Veto of SCHIP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Statement Attributable to:
Rick Kellerman, M.D.
Board Chair
American Academy of Family Physicians

“The American Academy of Family Physicians deeply regrets the president’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007. This bipartisan legislation ensures that children now enrolled in SCHIP will continue to have coverage and it expands that coverage to 6 million children who, today, do not have access to health care.

“We call on Democrats and Republicans in Congress to continue their bipartisan efforts to help American families by overriding this veto. Without an override, Congress will allow the status quo to continue while the children of hard-working, low-income parents wait to see a doctor.

“Ensuring high quality health care to our children is an investment in our future. America’s children can’t wait. Congress needs to act quickly to override this veto.”

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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents more than 94,600 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 208 million office visits each year - nearly 83 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty.

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

To learn more about the American Academy of Family Physicians and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit aafp.org.

For more information about the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care and downloadable multi-media on family medicine and health care, visit the AAFP Media Center.

For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit familydoctor.org.