U.S. Congressman Jerry McNerney was one of CHAMP's strongest supporters. "Every young child deserves a healthy start to life and no child should ever have to go without the quality medical care available in our country," McNerney said. "I was proud to vote today to provide health care to 11 million children and move us closer to providing every child in our nation with high-quality health care."
The CHAMP Act reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and protects coverage for six million children, including over one million in California - approximately one-sixth of SCHIP benefit recipients nationwide. The bill extends health care coverage to an additional five million low-income children eligible for care under the SCHIP program.
SCHIP was established on a bipartisan basis in 1997 by President Bill Clinton and the U.S. Congress, but must be reauthorized by Sept. 30, 2007. If the program is not reauthorized by that date, six million children nationwide stand lose their health care.
In a June 5 letter to the House leadership and California Congressional Delegation, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger identified SCHIP reauthorization as one of his top federal priorities. "The additional federal funding is absolutely essential to ensure the continued success of the program," Gov. Schwarzenegger wrote.
The CHAMP Act also includes provisions to strengthen Medicare, control out-of-pocket costs for seniors and help seniors gain access to the doctors of their choice by eliminating a scheduled 10-percent payment cut to doctors. Additionally, the legislation ends massive overpayments to private health organizations such as HMOs and makes a series of preventative screenings free for Medicare beneficiaries. New free benefits under Medicare provided under the CHAMP Act include:
Diabetes screening tests
Screening for glaucoma
An initial preventive physical examination
Bone mass measurement
Prostate cancer screening tests
Colorectal cancer screening tests
Mammography screening
Pap smear screening
In considering this legislation, McNerney joined several colleagues in seeking assurance from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell that the CHAMP Act does not provide SCHIP or Medicare benefits to illegal immigrants. The group received an answer in the affirmative: the CHAMP Act does not provide SCHIP or Medicare benefits to any illegal immigrants.
"The CHAMP Act will help ensure seniors see the doctor they trust and get the care they need," added McNerney. "The legislation we passed today makes Medicare stronger and helps prevent seniors from being stuck with a higher bill at the doctor's office."
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