Daily News

By Mark Binker
Staff Writer Sunday, Sep. 30, 2007 3:00 am

Update

So far: Congress passed an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program last week. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, of North Carolina, voted against the measure, as did Rep. Howard Coble.
The latest: The program would have doubled the funding available over the next year for the children’s health program, from $148.2 million to $333.9 million.
What’s next? President Bush has threatened to veto the measure, forcing states to rely on temporary funding until a compromise can be reached.

How they voted
The U.S. Senate and House voted to expand the federally funded State Children’s Health Insurance Program last week.
The state’s two senators, Republicans Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole, voted no. Here’s how North Carolina representatives voted:
Democrats voting YES: G.K. Butterfield, Brad Miller, David Price, Heath Shuler, Mel Watt
Democrats voting NO: Bob Etheridge; Mike McIntyre
All Republicans voted NO: Howard Coble, Virginia Foxx, Robin Hayes, Walter Jones, Patrick McHenry, Sue Myrick
RALEIGH — The compromise children health insurance bill passed by Congress last week is a good deal for North Carolina financially. It would fix a historical funding shortfall peculiar to the state by boosting the federal tax money sent here under the SCHIP program.
But President Bush reiterated Friday that he plans to veto the bill. The resulting political morass could force state officials to freeze new enrollments for children, even those who qualify under current guidelines. It also would complicate efforts to expand health insurance for children spelled out in this year’s state budget.
"This bill is kind of the high-water mark for us," said Dan Gerlach, a senior policy adviser to Gov. Mike Easley. "It acknowledges how we have been treated unfairly in the past. If you say no to this deal, then what happens next becomes problematic for us."
The SCHIP program — called N.C. Health Choice for Children in this state — was created in 1997 and is scheduled to expire this weekend. It provides health coverage for children whose families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but who do not have private health insurance. (more…)

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