It looks like PeachCare funding may well become entangled in the President's request for more money for the War in Iraq.
Democrats were, shall we say, less than pleased that their Republican predecessors in congressional leadership opted out of their responsibility to address the shortfall in Federal funds for PeachCare and similar programs in other states that provide access to health insurance to needy children. Recently, a bi-partisan legislative delegation led by Rep. Calvin Smyre went to D.C. to meet with Speaker Pelosi's staff, and last week, in what was dubbed a vice presidential audition, Gov. Perdue went to the Hill to plead with the new Democratic Majority to do something to fix this mess.
According to Political Insider, he was effective. Sort of. He got the attention of congressional leaders, but Perdue may not be pleased that Democrats are now using his words to challenge the President, who is set to request another 100 billion for the war in Iraq to also consider a separate spending request to address this domestic health care crisis. You can read the entire letter here, but this is the money quote:
“The governor of Georgia has written to us stating that ‘It is vitally important
to our most needy citizens that Congress act expeditiously.’
“At the end of the last Congress, we were successful in including a provision to avert a similar crisis, but unfortunately, we are again in need of another short-term
solution. While we plan to work in Congress later this year to reauthorize [the
insurance program] and address longer-term issues, it is essential that you work
with us to again provide a short-term fix. The cost of filling the funding
shortfall is minor in comparison to your other emergency requests."
http://speaker.house.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0064
Ouch. Do you think this will net Perdue that V.P. spot? Sphere: Related Content
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http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/6000.cfm
http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/1613.cfm
WWW.KFF.org
Monday, February 5, 2007
Women’s Health Insurance Coverage Fact Sheets
Health Insurance Coverage of Women Ages 18 to 64, by State, 2004-2005
As the cost of health insurance continues to rise, women in particular may face difficult challenges affording coverage because they are disproportionately low-income and can have more limited access to employer-based insurance.
To document the health coverage status of women, the Kaiser Family Foundation is releasing new fact sheets providing state and national data on women's health insurance.
Highlights include:
Nationally, one in five (19%) non-elderly women ages 18 to 64 are uninsured. Among the states, Minnesota has the smallest share of uninsured women (9%) and Texas, the highest (29%).
One third (34%) of women 18 to 64 in the U.S. have incomes less than 200% of poverty ($31,154 for a family of three) and 37% of low-income women are uninsured.
Approximately two-thirds of women and men have job-based coverage, however, women are less likely than men to be insured through their own job (38% vs. 50%, respectively) and more likely to have dependent coverage (24% vs. 13%).
Medicaid, the health program for the poor, covers 10% of non-elderly women in the U.S. In Maine, 20% of women are covered by Medicaid, compared to just 3% in neighboring New Hampshire.
Please contact Usha Ranji, uranji@kff.org for additional information.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.
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