Simpson and Minnick help pass bipartisan S-CHIP bill

Walt Minnick - Right for Idaho

January 28, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Congressmen Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick today voted to pass a measure that will ease financial burdens on thousands of Idaho families. The State Children Health Insurance program was reauthorized today by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Children from hardworking, low- to middle-income Idaho families who do not qualify for Medicare would have access to health care under the S-CHIP bill.

“Our children need to be competitive in an international marketplace,” said Simpson. “They need to be prepared to conquer challenges such as new energy technologies, global climate change, pandemic diseases, and a vastly increasing world population. In order to conquer these challenges, they need a good education and they need good health. Now, more than ever, we need to make sure our nation’s most precious resource, our children, have the tools they need to succeed.”

“As a businessman, I found that my employees were always most productive and happiest when they knew their children were safe and healthy,” Minnick said. “The vote today means more Idaho families can get through these tough times safe in the knowledge that they won’t have to skip a visit to the pediatrician so they can put food on the table.”

The bill passed today also provides much-needed clarification that federal funds cannot be spent to provide care for illegal immigrants. Under current law, there are no citizenship verification requirements for S-CHIP. However, the measure passed today would require the same kind of verification used in the Medicare program.