[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 100 (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5687-S5688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have 
printed in the Record a letter dated May 15, 2008, to Majority Leader 
Reid, Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader 
Boehner.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                     May 15, 2008.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. John Boehner,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader 
     McConnell and Minority Leader Boehner: As representatives of 
     non-partisan organizations committed to improving health care 
     for all children, we are writing to share our deep concern 
     regarding the impact of the directive to states that was 
     issued by the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
     (CMS) on August 17, 2007. In particular, we are concerned 
     that scores of children who are currently enrolled in the 
     State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will lose 
     coverage as a result of this policy change. Unfortunately, 
     the letter CMS sent to states on May 7, 2008, which seeks to 
     clarify the directive's requirements, does not change the 
     policy outlined in the August 17 directive and, sadly, does 
     nothing to mitigate its impact. States still must overcome 
     serious hurdles before they can provide SCHIP coverage to 
     uninsured children in working families and children--even 
     those who lose a parent or whose parents become unemployed--
     will be subject to a one-year waiting period before they will 
     be eligible for coverage under SCHIP. We urge Congress to 
     enact legislation that would impose a moratorium on the 
     implementation of this directive.
       As organizations committed to ensuring that all of our 
     nation's children have access to affordable health care 
     coverage, we strongly believe that no child in America

[[Page S5688]]

     who is currently covered under SCHIP or Medicaid should lose 
     their health coverage or access to care as a result of this 
     administrative directive. We share your commitment to 
     ensuring that federal health coverage programs make our 
     nation's lowest income children the foremost priority, 
     however, the CMS directive runs directly contrary to our 
     common goal of covering America's poorest children first. The 
     August 17 directive already is jeopardizing access to health 
     care for low-income children in at least 23 states. Moreover, 
     recent reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
     and the Congressional Research Service (CRS) affirm that the 
     directive goes beyond what is permissible under current law. 
     Unfortunately, CMS' May 7, 2008 letter to states did not 
     address these serious concerns. In light of the directive's 
     impact on state efforts to provide coverage for uninsured 
     children and the recent GAO and CRS findings, we urge the 
     House and Senate to take immediate action to halt the 
     implementation of the August 17 directive and restore states' 
     ability to determine how best to cover their children.
       With more than nine million American children lacking any 
     form of health insurance and nearly two-thirds of that number 
     already eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, we must do all we can 
     to reduce coverage barriers, not add additional ones. This 
     directive already is having a chilling effect on states, 
     stalling efforts in several states that were poised to enact 
     policy changes to improve coverage of uninsured children. 
     Halting the implementation of this directive is essential if 
     we are to tackle the coverage crisis facing our nation's most 
     vulnerable children. No child in America should lose their 
     health coverage as a result of philosophical differences in 
     Washington, D.C. Our nation must do better for our children.
       We know you agree that our children are our nation's most 
     precious resource and that investments in health care for 
     kids reap benefits that last a lifetime. We welcome the 
     opportunity to discuss these issues with you and to work with 
     you to be sure that all of our nation's children have 
     access to the health care services and coverage they need.
           Sincerely,
       First Focus; American Association of School Administrators; 
     LEAnet; National Association of Community Health Centers; 
     PICO National Network; The 2010 Cover All Kids Initiative; 
     AARP; Action for Children North Carolina; Alliance for 
     Excellent Education; American Academy of HIV Medicine; 
     American Academy of Nursing; American Academy of Pediatrics; 
     American Academy of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania Chapter; 
     American Academy of Pediatrics Utah; and American Association 
     of People with Disabilities.
       American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 
     American Dental Education Association; American Humane 
     Association; American Medical Women's Association; American 
     Music Therapy Association; American Network of Community 
     Options and Resources, ANCOR; American Nurses Association; 
     American Psychiatric Association; American Public Health 
     Association; Anchorage School District, AK; Anchorage's 
     Promise, AK; Association for Community Affiliated Plans; 
     Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, ACU; 
     Association of Women's Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses, 
     AWHONN; and Autism Society of America.
       Bayonne Jewish Community Center, NJ; Bayonne YMCA, NJ; 
     Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Bedford Youth & Family 
     Services, MA; The Black Children's Institute of Tennessee; 
     California State Association of Counties; Catholic Charities 
     of the Archdiocese of Newark; Catholic Charities USA; 
     Catholic Healthcare West; Center for Public Policy 
     Priorities, TX; Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.; Child and 
     Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative; Child and Family 
     Policy Center, Des Moines, IA; Children and Adults with 
     Attention Deficit/Hyper Activity Disorder; and Child Welfare 
     League of America.
       Children First for Oregon; Children Now, Sacramento/
     Oakland, CA; Children's Aid Society; Children's Dental Health 
     Project; The Children's Health Fund; The Children's 
     Partnership; Clinical Social Work Association; Colorado 
     Children's Campaign, Denver, CO; Colorado Community Health 
     Network; Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, 
     Parenting, and Prevention; Community Action Partnership; 
     Community Health Care Association of New York State; 
     Connecticut Association for Human Services; Connecticut Legal 
     Services, Inc.; and Consumer Health Coalition.
       Corona-Norco United Way, CA; County Commissioners' 
     Association of Ohio; County Commissioners Association of 
     Pennsylvania; County Welfare Directors Association of 
     California; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; DePelchin Children's 
     Center, Houston, TX; Disability Rights Education and Defense 
     Fund; Easter Seals; Educational Arts Team; Families USA; 
     Family Voices; Family Voices-NJ; FAMIS Outreach Project, 
     Radford, VA; FRESC: Good Jobs Strong Communities; and Greater 
     Hartford Legal Aid, Inc., CT.
       Healthy York Network, York, PA; Health Care For All 
     Massachusetts; HIV Medicine Association; Hudson Perinatal 
     Consortium, Inc., Jersey City, NJ; Immunization Action 
     Coalition; Indiana Primary Health Care Association; 
     Intermoutain Pediatric Society; Iowa/Nebraska Primary Care 
     Association; Jersey City Library Literacy Program; Legal 
     Assistance Resource Center of CT; Legislative Coalition for 
     People with Disabilities (Utah); Maine Children's Alliance; 
     Maryland Women's Coalition for Health Care Reform; 
     Maternal and Child Health Access, Los Angeles, CA; and 
     Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia, PA.
       Mental Health America; Medicaid Health Plans of America; 
     Mental Health/Mental Retardation Program Administrators of 
     Pennsylvania; Methodist Healthcare Ministries, San Antonio, 
     TX; Miami-Dade County; Michigan County Social Services 
     Association; Michigan's Children; Montview Boulevard 
     Presbyterian Church Health Care Task Force, Denver, CO; 
     Mountain Youth Resources; National Association for the 
     Education of Young Children; National Association of 
     Children's Hospitals; National Association of Counties; 
     National Association of County Behavioral Health and 
     Developmental Disability Directors; National Association of 
     County Human Services Administrators; and National 
     Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
       National Association of School Psychologists; National 
     Association of Social Workers; National Association of State 
     Directors of Special Education; National Council for 
     Community Behavioral Healthcare; National Council of Jewish 
     Women; National Council of Urban Indian Health; National Down 
     Syndrome Congress; National Federation of Families for 
     Children's Mental Health; National Health Law Program, NHeLP; 
     National Hispanic Health Foundation; National Hispanic 
     Medical Association; National Partnership for Women & 
     Families; National Women's Law Center; New Haven Legal 
     Assistance Association; and New Mexico Alliance for School-
     Based Health Care.
       New Mexico Voices for Children; NH Healthy Kids Corp; 
     Organization of Chinese Americans, OCA; Ohio Child Support 
     Enforcement Agency Directors' Association; Ohio Job and 
     Family Services Directors' Association; OPTIONS for 
     Independence; Oregon Action; Pennsylvania Association of 
     County Human Services Administrators; Pennsylvania 
     Partnerships for Children; Prevent Blindness America; Public 
     Children Services Association of Ohio; Public Health-Seattle 
     & King County, WA; Rhode Island KIDS COUNT; Rural Health 
     Association of Tennessee; and Salt Lake County Mayor.
       Salt Lake Community Action Program; Sargent Shriver 
     National Center on Poverty Law; SC Appleseed Legal Justice 
     Center, Columbia, SC; Service Employees International Union; 
     Southeastern Network of Youth and Family Services, Bonita 
     Springs, FL; Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey; 
     Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth; Tennessee Health 
     Care Campaign; Tennessee Justice Center; Tennessee Primary 
     Care Association; Texas Association of Public and Nonprofit 
     Hospitals; Texas Network of Youth Services; The Arc of the 
     United States; The Arc of Utah; and TII CANN--Title II 
     Community AIDS National Network.
       United Cerebral Palsy; United Neighborhood Health Services, 
     Inc.; United Spinal Association; United Way of America; 
     United Ways of California; United Way of Greater High Point; 
     United Way of Hudson County; United Ways of Louisiana; United 
     Way of Pennsylvania; United Ways of Texas; Utah Covering Kids 
     & Families Coalition; Visiting Homemaker Services of Hudson 
     County; Voices for America's Children; Voices for Children, 
     NE; Voices for Ohio's Children; Voices for Utah Children; 
     Washington Health Foundation; and Washington Physicians for 
     Social Responsibility.

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