Low Cost Insurance

WASHINGTON

A government sponsored bill that would extend health coverage to about four million additional children has been approved by the House, overwhelmingly.

In a vote of 290 pro to 135 negative, the bill that President Barack Obama was eager to see advanced was passed giving home an early win on health care. The president plans to sign the new bill into law late Wednesday.

The intent of the legislation is to make available to another 4 million uninsured children necessary healthcare that is government-sponsored coverage. In addition to this there is an estimated 2.4 million children who would otherwise have access to private insurance being added to the new coverage.

Within the context and provisions of the new bill it will be possible to spend an additional $32.8 billion of government money on the present children's healthcare program.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program which the bill is linked to, provides health insurance coverage for children in families that make too much to be covered by Medicaid, but which are still struggling to purchase private health insurance.

In an earlier story, it was reported that the House was about to approve a bill on Wednesday that would extend health coverage to 4 million uninsured children. This is being considered as a first step in President Barack Obama's proposed program of universal health coverage.

As the House began its debt over the bill, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut says that as unemployment keeps going up, it is certain that increasing numbers of individuals are going to be concerned about health coverage. She describes such a time as this as being one in which the country must face up to its most basic economic and moral responsibility, which is to provide health care to the most vulnerable citizens among us.

it was expected that the House would approve the expanded coverage for the children's health insurance program and would deliver it to Obama for his quick signature later in the day on Wednesday. This is the same bill that passed the Senate last week.

Republican members of Congress have been criticizing the cost of the legislation, which will mean the need for an additional $32.8 billion through 2013. They also point out that this means that an estimated 2.4 million children who might otherwise have access to private insurance will be instead joining the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Republican Representative Pete Sessions of Texas for example, refers to this bill as an attempt on the part of the Democrats to continue to push their government-run health care agenda, which they refer to universal health coverage.

At the present time there are approximately 7 million children are enrolled in SCHIP.

In order to account for the increased spending, the bill acts to boost the federal excise tax on cigarettes to $1.01 a pack, an increase of 62 cents.

SCHIP came into being over ten years ago and was designed to help children in families with incomes that are too high to qualify them for Medicaid but too low to allow them to receive private coverage.

Barring action by Congress the program was set to dispense with federal finding on March 31st of this year.

Those who are against the bill argue that the use of the tobacco tax increase by the bill will affect the poor the hardest, since the data show that they are more likely to smoke than the wealthy. A feature of the bill that expands coverage along with Medicaid to children of newly arrived legal immigrants was also objected to.