AAFP Expresses Disappointment With Failure to Override SCHIP Veto

The U.S. House of Representatives, as expected, could not muster enough votes to override President Bush's veto of recently passed State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, legislation, leaving the program's current funding levels intact and jeopardizing health care coverage for thousands of children.

Congress passed H.R. 976 (at the THOMAS Web site, type, "HR 976" in the search box after selecting "Bill Number") in late September to reauthorize and expand SCHIP by $35 billion during the next five years, a measure that would have boosted the program's enrollment from 6.6 million to 10 million recipients by 2012. But Bush vetoed the bill, saying that the $35 billion increase was too expensive and would lead to a single-payer health care system, a prospect Bush calls unacceptable.

On Oct. 18, the House voted 273-156 on an override measure, 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's veto. As a result, the program will be funded at fiscal year 2007 levels under a continuing resolution that is set to expire on Nov. 16.

"The American Academy of Family Physicians is disappointed that Congress did not override President Bush's veto of the bipartisan Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007," said AAFP President Jim King in a prepared statement. "We call on Congress and the Bush Administration to act quickly on legislation that reauthorizes and funds SCHIP at a level that ensures as many uninsured children as possible have access to needed health care."

AAFP members sent more than 900 messages to Congress recently, thanking members who had voted for the SCHIP reauthorization bill and urging those who had initially opposed the measure to vote for an override of Bush's veto.

Democrats are expected to immediately begin work on another SCHIP bill, which -- similar to the vetoed legislation -- will rely on a 61-cent increase in the cigarette tax for funding and will cover 10 million children, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Without a reauthorization bill, several states are planning for the possibility of capping or reducing SCHIP coverage, according to Christopher Spina, director of media relations for First Focus, a bipartisan advocacy group committed to making children and their families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions.

"One of the main concerns now is that states are stuck in limbo," said Spina. "They have found themselves in a situation where they are unable to plan for the future because they don't know what is going to happen. As a result, many are looking to establish waiting lists and a process for cutting off some of the children currently enrolled in the program."

Bush has indicated a willingness to negotiate with Congress about the future of SCHIP, and he has dispatched representatives to Capitol Hill to work out an agreement, Spina said. In the meantime, various members of Congress will propose SCHIP reauthorization bills.