Unless You've Just Memorized the GOP Talking Points...

...or just arrived from Mars, you know that water is not the only thing in short supply in Georgia. Georgia may once again have to ration PeachCare dollars. Today, writing for the AJC, Mike King says:

Unless Congress moves quickly to enact an emergency spending plan for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, Georgia will once again have to bar uninsured children from enrolling in its highly successful PeachCare plan.
That emergency plan is needed because earlier this month, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have funded and expanded PeachCare and other state programs for uninsured children. And thanks to a hard-core group of conservatives —- including all the Republican members from Georgia, as well as Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Macon) —- the U.S. House of Representatives last week fell just short of the two-thirds vote needed to override that veto.
As a result, PeachCare is slated to run out of money for new enrollees sometime next month. Without an emergency appropriation, Georgia and other states won't be able to get through 2008 with at least current spending and enrollment levels.

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Help Us, Jim Marshall, You're Our Only Hope

During the last legislative session, I was so proud when Marshall addressed the General Assembly and told them that he was confident that Congress would certainly reauthorize the SCHIP program and would likely even expand it. Now, we need Congressman Marshall to vote "yes" to reauthorize the program and side with working families in Georgia. I don't know how he plans to vote, but he needs to hear from Georgians.

This is important, critical, really. It's time to act. Please call or email Congressman Jim Marshall and ask him to vote 'yes' to expand and reauthorize SCHIP. The vote in the House is likely to be on Tuesday. Marshall's is a key swing vote on this issue. He was one of only ten Democrats to vote 'no' on an earlier version of the bill. We need his vote, not just to pass this critical legislation, but to send a message to Bush that a veto is unacceptable.

This is his email address, and he needs to hear from all of us: jim.marshall@mail.house.gov

Here's what I know, courtesy of First Focus:

...An agreement on a framework for SCHIP re-authorization has been reached by the House and the Senate leadership. Congress intends to send a bill to the President before the program's September 30th expiration date. While the details of the agreement have not been released, we understand that the bill will closely resemble the $35 billion Senate-passed bill, S. 1893, which includes a 61-cent tobacco tax and covers approximately 4 million new uninsured children. As expected, the Medicare provisions that were part of the House-passed CHAMP Act (H.R. 3162) will be stripped from the bill to be taken up in a separate measure later this fall. While the agreement tracks more closely with the Senate bill, we understand that key provisions from the House bill are part of the agreement, e.g. the agreement includes the House funding formula with a cap and the House dental benefit. While negotiations are ongoing and staff did not offer any sort of comprehensive review of the agreement that has been reached, in answering a very limited number of questions from advocates we learned that some of the provisions in the current agreement include the following:
§ Address in some manner the August 17th CMS letter;
§ Includes some “blended” provision on citizenship documentation requirements;
§ Includes some “conceptual agreement” on Express Lane Eligibility;
§ Includes some form of mental health parity;
§ Tracks the Senate bill on parent coverage and pregnant women.

We expect that details will continue to trickle out but that we won’t see the final agreement until early next week.

Timing

The House leadership says the bill will be taken up by the House Rules Committee on Monday, followed by a House floor vote on Tuesday. The bill will then be taken up by the Senate. To be sent to the White House by the end of the week.

Get Dialing!!

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I Am Livid

Governor Perdue is offended, and I am livid. Yesterday, the PBS program "Now" shined a spotlight on the looming crisis for SCHIP, the federal program that under girds Georgia's PeachCare program and provides the working poor with access to affordable health insurance. (H/T to Trackboy1)

Enrollment in Georgia's PeachCare program has been frozen since March, waiting for the re- authorization of SCHIP. While Democrats in Congress want to continue or expand the SCHIP program, many GOP members, including some of our own, keep wringing their hands and saying the words "socialized medicine" over and over and over. And, the threat of a presidential veto looms.

What PBS did so well yesterday was to put a human face on the crisis, focusing on a single mother in McDonough and another Georgia family with a teen with Type I diabetes, over $900 a month in expenses and no way to pay for her medicine. The politicians in the piece, Gov. Perdue and Nathan Deal, played the game of pass the buck. Gov. Perdue, when asked what he would tell these families, initially replied that they needed to contact their congressman. When the interviewer suggested that would not get this teen the insulin she needs to sustain her life every day, Gov. Perdue actually said that he "took offense" at being asked to address the plight of a specific person. He takes "offense." And he won't be held responsible for that. When the health care debate happens around tables laden with $50 lunches bought by insurance company executives, the outcome is predictable. There, it is easy to ignore the real cost of failing to provide access, but we are talking about people's lives-children's' lives. The video is on the web, and well worth watching.

If aiding the children of the working poor by giving them a chance to buy health insurance at an affordable price is not the role of government, then I don't know what is. This debate over SCHIP is the tip of the iceberg. I believe that access to health care is quickly becoming the great civil rights issue of our time. What can be more basic to our civil liberties than the opportunity to survive and the the suggestion that income should not be the determining factor in whether or not someone has access that opportunity?

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Will Saxby Sink Georgia's Children?

If Sen. Chambliss were not casting his vote on SCHIP in the comfort of the Senate, and instead had to stand at the door to a Georgia doctor's office, turning away sick children, do you think he might change his mind and do the right thing by Georgia's children?

Chambliss seems quite torn about whether he can cast a vote to continue access to adequate healthcare for low income children in Georgia and across the country. I know it's a tough job being a Senator, sitting in his Washington office and engaging in an intellectual debate about whether or not we want to provide working families in Georgia with access to affordable health insurance for their children. Not to worry. If Sen. Chambliss gets too stressed or injuries his finger while voting, he can use his government provided health insurance to see his doctor.

It's easy to see why he struggles with this decision. Never mind that one in every four children in Georgia live in poverty, and 42% of Georgia's children live at or below 200% of poverty. Forget that when children live in poverty, they are at increased risk for poor health, emotional or behavioral problems, depression, anxiety and learning disabilities. Don't bother to mention that making sure that poor children have access to adequate, affordable healthcare is a key to avoiding those negative outcomes-outcomes that fill our hospitals and our jails, at the expense of taxpayers. Sen. Chambliss must stay on GOP message by tossing out buzzwords like "socialized medicine" and wringing his hands about the cost of the program to taxpayers. Funny, I haven't heard him complain about the ten billion dollars a month we spend on the war in Iraq.

Yet, at a forum in Carterville this week, Saxby Chambliss predicted an "interesting debate" in the Senate this week on the reauthorization of SCHIP, the Federal Program that undergirds Georgia's popular and effective PeachCare program. Chambliss complained about Democratic efforts to expand SCHIP, saying, "You and I and every other voter would eventually pay for that program."

I've got news for Sen. Chambliss. We're ALL already paying for the failure to make sure that every child has access to quality, affordable healthcare, and if Congress fails to reauthorize SCHIP, that cost will skyrocket. This is literally a pay me now or pay me later proposition, and the smart money is on SCHIP. In the end, isn't providing access to healthcare for children just the right thing to do-the moral thing to do?

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Peach Freeze

See what Hannah thinks about politicians and bureaucrats who want to take away her health insurance? Even she knows Georgia's PeachCare program is in trouble. The freeze on new enrollments that began on March 1, 2007 is still in effect. What can change that? Literally, an Act of Congress, reauthorizing SCHIP.

Last session, the General Assembly passed a appropriations act that would allow the Department of Community Health to borrow money from Medicaid to bridge the 70 million dollar gap PeachCare is facing. The problem is that attorneys who are looking at that legislation have concerns about whether the language of the act is sufficient/appropriate, so DCH has not moved forward, hence the freeze. Why am I not shocked that such a critical act would contain legal flaws that may make it worth less than the paper it was printed on?

At the same time, Republicans in Congress, cheered on by Speaker Richardson, are looking to a Congressional Budget Office Report for ammunition in their fight to reduce the number of children who are eligible for PeachCare. I take back what I said about Republicans being slaves to polling data- 80% of Georgians favor maintaining or expanding PeachCare-but still the Republican leadership remains unmoved. Can you imagine fighting to remove children from health insurance?

I agree with Jon Flack. It is time for Democrats in Congress to step up to the plate and reauthorize this critical program. On a not-at-all-unrelated topic, there is breaking news that Rep. Jim Marshall has drawn opposition in the 8th Congressional District: Maj. Gen. Richard Goddard . Jim has served the district well, and he can certainly handle Goddard; however, this does make the race against Saxby look more appealing-at least to me. I'm not sure Jim will see it that way. Congressman Marshall's advocacy on the issue of children's healthcare will have me in his corner no matter which race he enters.

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Can Someone Answer This Question, Please?

Is the $81 million for PeachCare stopgap funding stuck in the 2007 supplemental budget, and thus, not yet available? If so, until a supplemental is approved, how does this impact the continuation of the program?

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Act Now to Stop Cuts to PeachCare

We can help protect Georgia's children by stopping cuts to PeachCare, but we have to act NOW. Monday morning at 9 am, the Senate Rules committee will take up HB340, the proposed PeachCare cuts. If this bill passes, we will have more uninsured children, and dental and vision benefits will be in jeopardy. You can help by calling your Senator and telling them to oppose this bill. Thanks to AARP, the call will be free.
For the kids, just dial 1-800-511-6259. Call, and tell others to call, and tell you Senator to vote NO on HB 340.



Thanks very much to AARP for setting up this tollfree line and to my friend Kathy Floyd for sending this information.


We hoped that Cagle might do the right thing on this bill, but one has to wonder whether he traded House consideration of SB10 (voucher bill) for Senate consideration of HB340. I hope not, because, if so, this is a lose/lose for Georgia's children.




Now, get dialing, and tell others to do the same.

Here's more information from AARP:

Health Care Coverage for Children in Jeopardy

House Bill 340 would leave more children uninsured, limit benefits

Perhaps you’ve seen the new AARP commercials with the tag line, “What we do we do for all.” Standing against House Bill 340, which would deny health coverage to many children who would otherwise be covered and make dental and vision coverage harder to get, is a perfect example of this motto in action.
PeachCare provides essential health coverage to children from low-income working families. Statewide, PeachCare provides health coverage to every tenth child. PeachCare provides coverage to hard-working, tax-paying families in urban and rural parts of the state.
HB 340 would lower the income eligibility level for PeachCare to 200% of the federal poverty level. If that level were in effect now, at least 22,000 more children would be uninsured. Going forward with that new level, an additional 3,000 to 5,000 children each year would be denied coverage. In addition, HB 340 would make necessary dental and vision services optional at an additional premium.
AARP Georgia strongly believes that children should not be without health coverage. Georgia needs coverage for more children, not fewer. Your help is needed. Call toll-free 1-800-511-6259 and ask your Senator to vote NO on HB 340 and protect Georgia’s children.

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This is Why I Like Jim Marshall

According to the AJC's Political Insider, Congressman Jim Marshall addressed the Georgia legislature today and voiced his strong support for not only maintaining PeachCare at current levels, but challenged the legislators to be visionary and look at how they might include more children. He offered reassurance that the Congress would be looking at ways to do just that and encouraged the legislators to keep pace. This is why I like Jim Marshall. Can you imagine, say, Mac Collins, giving that speech? When you feel like throwing stones Marshall's way, you might want to remember that but for 1000 votes, it would've been Mac giving that speech.

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Credit Where It's Due

After my morning rant, it is important to give credit where credit is due. Rep. Nikki Randall has been a tireless advocate for Georgia's children during this session. It was Randall who first offered a bill to allow the state to provide stop-gap funding for PeachCare. It was Randall who took to the well virtually every day with passionate pleas to her colleagues to support PeachCare. Yesterday, she and other House members took to the well to present the minority report on HB 340. Rep. DuBose Porter, Rep. Carolyn Hugley, Rep. Calvin Smyre, Rep. Pat Gardner, Rep. Randall were among the heroes who stood up for Georgia children. They, and all the Democrats in the House who voted against HB 340 deserve our thanks. Let's give them a round of applause!

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Georgia Democrats Who Failed Our Children

I will, at come point, move on, but today is not that day. Today, I am shocked and saddened by the Democrats in the Georgia House who failed to stand up for Georgia's children. What issue goes more to the core of what Democrats stand for than making sure that children in Georgia's working families have access to healthcare?

Democrats gave Georgia children PeachCare. Republicans like Speaker Richardson have never been thrilled with it, and have expressed glee at the opportunity to 'give it a new look.' If HB 340 passes the senate, and it will, that 'new look' will include a lot more uninsured Georgia children. I get that Richardson is fine with that, but what about the Democrats who voted for the bill? Did their finger slip? Were they possessed by a demon at the time of the vote? Worse than those who voted for the bill-there are a number of Democrats who could not be bothered to vote at all. In my view, that's worse. Check on what your representative did by clicking here.

Jacobs and Black were the only two Democrats in the House who voted 'yes' on 340. Black is a former school board president. I cannot imagine what in his experience led him to this decision. And Jacobs? What can I say? This is not the first disappointment from him. But legislators like Mangham, Sailor, and Parham could not be bothered to vote at all. Some might say, "at least they didn't vote 'yes.'" Give me a break. How hard is it to justify a vote for Georgia's children? What campaign mail are they dreading? "Mangham dares to vote for children's healthcare?" Please.

This is going to pass the senate, but I hope that not a single senate Democrat will join in this effort.

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This is Unconfirmed But...

A friend who is up at the Capitol tells me that the only two Democrats who voted with the Speaker on HB 340 were Mike Jacobs and Ellis Black. Extremely disappointing, if accurate. What were they thinking? Who knows?

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Georgia House Passes Restrictions to PeachCare

That's what Speaker Richardson said in defense of HB 340: "What did the children (hear scarcasm) do from the time Jesus was born until 1996? I'll bet their all dead." HB 340 passed 101 to 66.* Thousands more Georgia children will go without health insurance.

*Correction, 101 to 63.

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Porter Argues to Protect PeachCare

The payday lending bill has failed, and Rep. Porter is in the well right now offering a passionate defense of PeachCare. Rep. Gardner follows him. You, too, can watch here.

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Will Some Democrats Bail on PeachCare?

Will some Democrats vote with the Speaker on HB 340? I hope not. Look guys and gals, payday lending, ultrasound bills and voting for Richardson instead of your own minority leader for speaker-all that is bad, but can all of you at least find it in yourselves to vote against a bill that will literally make fewer children eligible for PeachCare? Children's healthcare. Can we at least find unity on that?

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Moving Georgia in the Wrong Direction

Here's what the non-partisan, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute has to say about the Speaker's bill (HB 340) to scale back PeachCare:

“Georgia has the 6th highest number of uninsured children and among the lowest children’s health status of the 50 states,” Essig noted. “The focus of health policy in Georgia should be to reduce the number of uninsured children and thereby improve Georgia’s children’s health. HB 340 moves Georgia in the wrong direction.”

Read the whole report here.

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Urgent: We Cannot Let This Stand

More bad news on PeachCare from Family Connection Partnership:


URGENT:

HHS Committee Passes HB 340, which cuts PeachCare eligibility from 235 percent of the FPL to 200 percent
House Health and Human Services (HHS) committee favorably passed HB 340 (Speaker Richardson), which cuts PeachCare eligibility from 235 percent to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). This bill will go up for a vote in the House as early as tomorrow (Day 29), but no later than Tues., March 27 (Day 30). Proponents for the bill state that this will save the PeachCare program money in the future. Opponents believe the bill will negatively impact children.

What does the bill do?

All children who are currently enrolled (prior to March 11) can maintain coverage. Eligibility for children who enroll after the bill’s effective date must be below 200 percent of the FPL.
Changes the benefit package to mirror the state health benefit plan, which is not designed for children. PeachCare program benefits were designed with children in mind.
Vision and dental coverage would be optional and available with an additional premium.

What do we know?
Cutting PeachCare eligibility from 235 percent to 200 percent of the FPL would prevent 3,000 – 5,000 children per year from getting coverage.
Dental and vision coverage are standard SCHIP (PeachCare) benefits throughout the nation.
35 of the 36 separate SCHIP programs throughout the United States cover eye-glasses for SCHIP kids.
35 of the 36 separate SCHIP programs cover preventive vision services, and 35 of the 36 cover dental treatment services.
All programs that are Medicaid expansion programs cover full dental and vision care.
Georgia has the sixth highest number of uninsured children in the United States (300,000).
Georgia has the highest rate of children without health insurance (12.5 percent).

Family Connection Partnership and Family Connection work to improve the conditions of children and families throughout Georgia. We track and measure outcomes for children—particularly regarding the health and well-being of children.

If this is important to you, and the children and families in your community, please share this information with your collaborative and key partners. If your community would like to express concerns to your representatives, for contact information visit http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/house/07alpha.html.



Other bills related to PeachCare:
HB 620 and HB 625 (Reps. Ron Stephens, Pat Gardner, Judy Manning, and others) would allow Georgia to use Medicaid funds to protect PeachCare coverage for children and would not cut eligibility or services. Both bills are assigned to House Insurance.

BUDGET UPDATE
House Appropriations Subcommittees have been hard at work during the interim and have completed their recommendations for the amended FY07 budget. Highlights from Subcommittee recommendations:
· $1 million in the Department of Community Health budget for “new start” Community Health Centers to be administered by the Georgia Association for Primary Care in Bacon, Bibb, Gwinnett, and Lanier counties
· $1 million in the Department of Human Resources (DHR) budget for additional funding for the Babies Born Healthy program
· $250,000 in the DHR budget to Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia for a Web-based case tracking system
House Appropriations will vote on the amended FY07 budget on March19. House Appropriations Subcommittees are meeting this week to finalize their recommendations for the FY08 budget.

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Rep. Nikki Randall: GOP Slight of Hand

We better hold off bestowing the "Knights in Shining Armor Award" to Georgia Republicans for "saving" PeachCare. Even as Georgia newspapers blazed with headlines about Republicans acting to "rescue PeachCare," the Republican leadership acted in committee today to significantly rollback the benefits that are now available to working families under that critical program.

To their credit, the Georgia Democratic House Caucus issued a statement today opposing HB340, a bill designed to rollback the PeachCare eligibility level to 200% of poverty rather than 235% of poverty as it is now. (For a family of four, 235% of poverty is $47,000 per year.) We knew that passage of this bill was a high priority for Republicans who returned to session today after a two week hiatus.

According to Rep. Nikki Randall, HB 340 passed out of full committee this morning by committee substitute. The substitute not only lowers the eligibility rate to 200% but it also removes the dental and vision components of the program. The substitute bill allows the department the option of offering both the dental and vision components, but at a cost above the existing premium.

In committee today, Rep. Randall, who was the first to offer a bill, HB 236, to allow the state to fund the shortfall, offered three amendments to no avail. The meeting was very restricted. Committee members were limited to only one question and testimony was limited to one minute. Calling it a "fast train," Randall finally offered a motion to postpone action on the bill because she felt that the bill was not given an adequate hearing because of the new restrictions. The bill also gives the department the power to raise or lower the premium rate in response to the amount at which the program is renewed, reason being that, of course, the General Assembly will not be in session when Congress makes that determination. That gives an awful lot of power to a non-elected body. Randall said, "if we can come into special session to pass a gas tax surely we can come back to make that crucial decision." No kidding.

The Telegraph noted that the Governor's beloved "Go Fish" program was 'slashed' from thirteen million to just five million to help pay for the PeachCare 'fix.' (That's because campaign mail that said Republicans told Georgia families to "Go Fish" for health insurance would have been just too devastating. Can't you visualize that commercial or mail piece?)

We need to remember the big budget surplus that Sonny touted during the campaign and that the majority of the money Georgia is fronting for this temporary shortfall will be reimbursed by the Federal Government when the SCHIP program is reauthorized this summer. Plus, don't we need to ask what sort of priorities allow us to spend even five million on "Go Fish" if we are further restricting access to children's health insurance?

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BREAKING: URGENT PeachCare Alert

Georgia Republicans are wasting no time moving forward with their plan to rollback eligibility for PeachCare. In fact, the very first item on their agenda when the session reconvenes on Monday is a vote to do just that. They know that it is the weekend, and they are doing this now so that there will be limited opportunity for public comment. We must act today and through the weekend if we hope to stop this ill-conceived plan.

Thanks to Planned Parenthood for this information:

Urgent PeachCare Alert

Bill to cut PeachCare eligibility is set for a vote at 9:30 a.m. Monday --Please call committee members today and ask them to vote against HB 340!

HB 340 is set for a vote in the House Health and Human Services Committee Monday morning, March 19, at 9:30 a.m., Room 506 in the Legislative Office Building. The bill would cut income eligibility limits from 235% of the federal poverty level to 200%. Children in a family of three with income over $34,340 would not be able to get PeachCare.

We understand there may also be an effort to use this bill to cut dental and vision services and charge families more for them.

Please call committee members TODAY! Ask them to vote NO on HB 340.
Please let them know you want:
* PeachCare coverage for more children, not fewer
* An end to the freeze on PeachCare enrollment
* No cuts in services or cost increases
Children without health care coverage are far less likely to get the services they need and are less likely to do well in school and become productive members of society. Cutting coverage will send children back into emergency rooms and cost more down the road. Ask the committee to make children our state priority.
Thank you!

Sharon Cooper, Chair, Marietta R-41 404-656-5069 Ed Rynders, Vice-Chair, Albany R-152 404-656-7855 Buddy Carter, Secretary, Pooler R-159 404-656-0213 Charlice Byrd, Woodstock R-20 404-656-0126 Mike Cheokas, Americus D-134 404-656-0325 Doug Collins, Gainesville R-27 404-656-0188 Katie Dempsey, Rome R-13 404-656-0126 Karla Drenner, Avondale Estates D-86 404-656-0202 Tom Graves, Ranger R-12 404-656-7146 Bill Hembree, Winston R-67 404-656-5146 Michele Henson, Stone Mountain D-87 404-656-0116 Sistie Hudson, Sparta D-124 404-656-7859Lester Jackson, Savannah D-161 404-656-6372Sean Jurgeson, Canton R-22 404-656-0287 Sheila Jones, Atlanta D-44 404-656-0323Margaret Kaiser, Atlanta D—59 404-656-0265 Mike Keown, Coolidge R-173 404.656.0177 Jimmy Lord, Sandersville D-142 404.656.7859 Barry Loudermilk, Cassville R-14 404-656-0152 John Lunsford, McDonough R-110 404-656-7146 Gene Maddox, Cairo R-172 404-656-0152 Fran Millar, Dunwoody R-79 404-656-5064 Billy Mitchell, Stone Mountain D-88 404-656-0116 Howard Mosby, Atlanta D-90 404-656-0287 Don Parsons, Marietta R-42 404-463-2247 Allen Peake, Macon R-137 404-656-0188 Nikki Randall, Macon D-138 404-656-0109 Carl Rogers, Gainesville R-26 404-463-2247 Tony Sellier, Fort Valley R-136 404-656-0265 Robbin Shipp, Atlanta D-58 404-656-6372 Barbara Sims, Augusta R-119 404-656-0109 Pam Stephenson, Atlanta D-92 404-656-0126 Mable Thomas, Atlanta D-55 404-656-0314 Stan Watson, Decatur D-91 404-656-0220 Joe Wilkinson, Sandy Springs R-52 404-463-8143

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Our Children are STILL Locked Out

To read Georgia newspapers today, you'd think that the Georgia GOP was the savior of Georgia's PeachCare program and that they reached into their own pockets and found the money to 'loan' the federal government. Don't be fooled. It's time for a little truth check:

1) PeachCare is not fixed. The GOP plan for stop-gap funding does not rescind the freeze on new enrollments until Congress reauthorizes the SCHIP program. This could also impact families who miss premium payments.

2) Georgia Republicans still intend to rollback qualification standards. See this quote from the Telegraph:

Democrats on Tuesday quickly turned their attention to fighting cuts to PeachCare being pushed by top state Republicans. Perdue has said he supports a proposal by Richardson that would lower the income eligibility threshold for PeachCare from 235 percent of poverty to 200 percent. Those already in the program in that income range would be grandfathered in, Perdue said.

3) Bridging the funding gap is not what the GOP wanted. It is an idea that was birthed early in the session by caucus Vice Chair, Nikki Randall. See her quote here:

State Rep. Nikki Randall, D-Macon, said she was "pleased" at the step. She'd been pushing a similar fix for weeks by asking colleagues to pass House Bill 236, which would have allowed the state to put its own money into PeachCare once the federal reimbursements ran out.
"I wish I'd thought of it myself," Randall said of Perdue's solution. "But I did think of it myself."

We cannot sit by quietly while the Georgia GOP now moves forward to fund boat ramps and who knows what else while they reduce critical services for our children. It is all about priorities.

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Chicken is for Fundraisers

Chicken is not a game that should be played with healthcare for Georgia's children. Yet, this is exactly what the Georgia GOP did- they opted to play a game of chicken with the federal government to see who would come up with the funds to fill the gap for PeachCare.

Today, they finally did what Rep. Jim Marshall and Rep. Nikki Randall proposed long ago- they borrowed the money to fill the gap from the Medicaid program. I guess when a Democrat proposes something, partisan politics trumps child welfare and the idea is dismissed by the Republican leadership. It is too bad that this crisis was allowed to bloom, and too bad that families were stressed not knowing whether or not they would be able to continue coverage.

The Republican spin on this issue has been that Congress left them holding the bag and that Congress must act to 'fix' PeachCare. The truth is that Congress did precisely what they had promised, but Georgia's high enrollment (a good thing) exceeded projections. Congress, due to reauthorize spending for the S-CHIP program this year, will ultimately reimburse the state for the money that is now being used to bridge the gap. The 'fix' that was needed, and proposed early on by Randall, was that Georgia law did not provide for the state to step in a provide funding for the program in a crisis like the one that exists now-even if those funds would later be reimbursed. And, remember, due the the surplus Sonny talked about during the campaign, we had PLENTY of money to get this done. It was never a question of 'could' we do it- it was a question of priorities and 'would' we do it.

Now, the Republican leadership, who refused to even give her bill a hearing, have essentially adopted the language of that legislation and made it their own. Fine. At least our children are finally protected, but never forget that this is not the solution the GOP leadership wanted in Georgia. They wanted to shave children from the PeachCare rolls. That was their solution. I suspect that they polled the issue and discovered that most Georgians disagreed with this ill-conceived plan. Whatever gets it done.

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