Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Regarding Eugene Robinson's Oct. 5 column, "Bush's Veto Lies," on the State Children's Health Insurance Program:

Mr. Robinson wrote that the authorization to cover children in families in New York earning up to $83,000 "is not in the bill [President] Bush vetoed." In fact, Section 114(a) of the legislation would allow New York to go to $83,000, with federal approval, and New Jersey to stay at $72,000. And any other state could go to $61,000 and get the generous SCHIP federal payment. Section 116(g) of the legislation takes a second step to reassure New York that it could put children in families up to $83,000 on taxpayer-supported health insurance.

This would give states incentives to bring more affluent, already-insured children into the program rather than focusing on lower-income children who are uninsured and whose parents earn $41,000 or less -- the original intent of the program.

Mr. Robinson said the president was wrong to veto a bill that would provide health insurance to children. But the president has said repeatedly that he wants to sign an SCHIP bill that focuses on lower-income children whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private coverage. But adding millions of middle-income children, many of whom already are insured, to the program would hurt rather than help the children who need help most.

GRACE-MARIE TURNER

President

Galen Institute

Alexandria

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The Oct. 6 editorial "The Debate Goes On" addressed President Bush's decision to veto legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program on the grounds that it was too costly and was a step toward federalization of health care. The editorial included a reference to the Medicare prescription drug law signed by the president and noted that he "pressed for the most expensive new entitlement program indecades."

The comparison was misleading in that it did not mention alternative legislation proposed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), among others. That legislation would have expanded Medicare to provide total prescription drug benefits to Medicare recipients at tremendous cost and placed future financing of Medicare in jeopardy. The program signed into law by the president was a compromise that has proven successful.

WARREN A. MANISON

Potomac