Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) joined her colleagues today (August 1, 2007) in voting for “The Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP Act).”  The bill, which passed by a 225-to-204 vote, reauthorizes the State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) and includes several provisions to protect and improve Medicare for our nation’s seniors and people with disabilities.

“As a proud American who cherishes the values upon which our country was founded, I believe this bill takes a giant step forward in honoring our moral imperative to ensure that age, race and income do not determine the health status of our children, seniors, and citizens with disabilities,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said.

Nationwide, two out of every three uninsured children in the United States are eligible for coverage through SCHIP and Medicaid, but are not insured. Final passage of the CHAMP Act (H.R. 3162) will provide 11 million children, including five million additional children who are eligible but not enrolled in the program, with health insurance coverage across the United States.

In California, the CHAMP Act will provide an increase in federal funding of $376.5 million over last year to provide an additional one million eligible children with health insurance coverage.  In addition, the CHAMP Act encourages culturally appropriate enrollment and retention practices by funding translation and interpretation services, to help enroll and retain children in SCHIP for families where English is not the primary language.  The bill also authorizes community health workers for outreach services and includes them in required federal evaluations.

SCHIP was established on a bipartisan basis in 1997 by President Clinton and Congress, but must be reauthorized by September 30, 2007. If the program is not reauthorized by then, six million children nationwide could lose their health care.  Eligible children are typically in working families with parents who either cannot afford insurance or hold jobs that lack health care benefits. 

The following is the full text of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard’s floor statement submitted into the Congressional Record about the CHAMP Act:

“Madam Speaker,

On behalf of the millions of children without health insurance, and the millions of seniors who need the added Medicare benefits in this bill, I rise in support of HR 3162, the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007.

Because the CHAMP Act will have such a huge impact on improving the health and well-being of millions of America’s children and seniors, it is without doubt one of the most important pieces of legislation this Congress will pass.

As a mother and grandmother, I believe one of our country’s greatest responsibilities is to ensure the health and well-being of our children.  The CHAMP Act honors that responsibility by providing states with $50 billion in new funds to provide an additional 5.1 million children with health care coverage.

The bill also provides comprehensive Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment health services to all infants, children, and adolescents enrolled in Medicaid.  These services, weakened by a Republican-controlled Congress in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006, will help ensure vulnerable children have health problems diagnosed early and avoid more complex and costly treatment.

In addition, the CHAMP Act establishes a pediatric health care quality measurement program which will provide a long overdue federal investment in quality and performance measurements.  The grants made available to states will improve the delivery of health care services to children under Medicaid and SCHIP.

As a daughter, I have watched with concern the health challenges my parents have faced as they aged.  Luckily, they have had the resources to receive the care and medication they have needed. 

Sadly, this is not the case for a vast majority of seniors such as those in my congressional district.  While they face many of the same health challenges that my parents experienced, they struggle every day to make ends meet, often unable to afford their costly medications.

The CHAMP Act helps these seniors by extending the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund, and simplifying and expanding the existing programs designed to help low-income Medicare beneficiaries pay for Medicare premiums and prescription drugs. 

Of great importance is also the fact that this bill encourages wellness by extending badly needed preventive and therapeutic services. The CHAMP Act eliminates co-payments and deductibles for current and future evidence-based preventive benefits, gives parity to mental health services by reducing the 50 percent co-payment on outpatient mental health treatment, and ensures our seniors have access to physical, occupational, and speech therapies.

The CHAMP Act also extends agreements with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow states, including my home state of California, to continue providing services to our most vulnerable seniors through adult day care health programs.

As a Latina and a Member of Congress who represents a large multicultural constituency, I am also concerned about the barriers that prevent minorities from enrolling in Medicaid and SCHIP.  For example in the Latino community,  barriers such as the lack of culturally sensitive outreach efforts have resulted in keeping more than 70 percent of eligible Latino children uninsured. 

The CHAMP Act addresses this deficiency by encouraging culturally appropriate enrollment and retention practices.  The bill funds translation and interpretation services for families where English is not the primary language and authorizes community health workers to provide outreach services.

Finally, the CHAMP Act restores the states’ option to cover legal immigrant children and legal immigrant pregnant women in SCHIP or Medicaid.  It also amends the requirements for documentation of citizenship to allow a reasonable amount of time for families to gather the necessary papers and information.

As a proud American who cherishes the values upon which our country was founded, I believe this bill takes a giant step forward in honoring our moral imperative to ensure that age, race and income do not determine the health status of our children, seniors, and citizens with disabilities.

With the expansion of SCHIP coverage to millions of children, and the additional benefits made available to Medicare beneficiaries, the CHAMP Act may well be the most important pro-life bill the 110th Congress will pass in 2007.  

I commend Chairman Dingell from the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Chairman Rangel from the Ways and Means Committee, as well as the dedicated staff members who have invested so much time and effort to craft this very important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to vote for its passage today, to honor our commitment to our children, our seniors and our citizens with disabilities, and to offer them the promise of a healthier tomorrow.”
 

-- ### --