[W]ASHINGTON — The House passed a bill to extend a popular children’s health care program with little Democratic support Friday.
Though there is broad backing across party lines for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, many members of the Democratic minority refused to vote for the legislation because of how it would be funded.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., was among the “no” votes. Though Welch supports the CHIP program, he said he could not vote in favor of the bill because it would be paid for with money from another public health program started under former President Obama.
Welch accused House Republicans of using the CHIP reauthorization legislation to dismantle Obamacare.
“What’s going on here is they’re out to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, and they’ll take any opportunity they can including the CHIP program to make progress on the sabotage effort,” Welch said.
The bill passed the House 242 to 174, largely along party lines.
Democrats and Republicans alike have stood behind the two-decade-old health care program since its inception. However, the program lapsed after Congress failed to reauthorize it before the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.
Most states have enough money in the coffers to keep the program running until some point next year.
In Vermont, federal CHIP and Medicaid dollars fund Dr. Dynasaur, an insurance program for children.
Vermont finance officials say the state has enough CHIP money to carry the program through March of next year. If Congress fails to reauthorize the program by then, the state will face a $22 million hole in the budget.
Several states, including Minnesota and California, however, are poised to run out of funding by the end of the year. Some have sent out notices to families alerting them that their children’s insurance may soon expire because of the lack of federal reauthorization.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have agreed to a proposal to reauthorize the program for another five years. The deal would reduce an increase in the federal contribution to the program that was put in place under the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats and Republicans split over how to pay for the program.
The bill that passed the House Friday, supported primarily by Republicans, would fund CHIP by cutting an Obama-era public health fund. It would also increase premiums for high-earning Medicare recipients.
According to Welch, the House bill would eliminate a fund that has helped to support public health initiatives in Vermont, including $932,000 for immunizations, $377,000 for lead poisoning prevention, and other funds for prevention of heart disease and diabetes.
“We all know that prevention dollars are extremely important both for healthy living but also for financial savings,” Welch said.
The bill would also reduce the amount of time families would have to make up missed payments on their health care plans from the current period of 90 days to 30 days, according to Welch.
Welch said instead of cutting programs to pay for CHIP, Congress should look to find savings in health care by reforming prescription drug pricing, for instance.
Majority leadership is using the children’s health reauthorization legislation as “another vehicle by which they can chip away at the Affordable Care Act,” Welch said.
Meanwhile, House Republicans praised the legislation.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said it is “unfortunate” that Democrats didn’t back the legislation.
“Under this bill, children who, through no fault of their own, don’t have health insurance and are eligible will continue to benefit from CHIP coverage,” Ryan said. “This five-year extension is done in a responsible and common-sense manner that keeps our fiscal promises and fulfills our moral responsibilities.”
The Senate hasn’t yet taken up legislation on the program, though the Senate Finance Committee passed a bill with bipartisan support that would extend CHIP for five years, although the legislation doesn’t offer a way to pay for the program.
The House-passed version is likely to meet resistance in the Senate and it’s not clear when the Senate will take it up.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chair of the Finance Committee, was a key backer of the authorizing legislation that established CHIP in the 1990s.
“I am working with my colleagues to advance this bill in a fiscally responsible manner so we can ensure coverage is maintained,” Hatch said.
Welch said he expects CHIP reauthorization will eventually pass. However, he believes the version that passed Friday could further delay final passage, because he said the chambers are now more likely to end up going through a conference committee to reach a compromise.
“It may actually be a setback to the reauthorization of CHIP that we need because it sets up a battle with the Senate,” he said.
