SCHIP Expansion Enjoys Wide Support

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released new poll results today that show 86 percent of Americans support the State Children's Health insurance Program (SCHIP). The program provides health care coverage for children whose parents earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid, but not enough to purchase private health insurance. The poll also shows that 63 percent of respondents favor expanding the program to include more children.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate both passed separate bills that would raise the program's budget and provide health care coverage for children that currently qualify but remain uncovered for lack of funds, but President Bush has threatened to veto any measure that expands the program. Currently, six million children are enrolled in the program, but an estimated nine million children are still uninsured. Most of these uninsured children live with parents who work, but earn a modest income.

Support for SCHIP crosses party lines. Eighty-six percent of independents support reauthorizing the program, along with 77 percent of republicans and 93 percent of democrats. Seventy-seven percent of voters also support the program,even when told that the program could cost $39 billion over the next five years. Sixty-three percent of voters support expanding the program to cover an addition four million children, even at a cost of $35 billion over five years.

President Bush's threatened veto met with broad voter disapproval. Sixty-four percent of voters say they disagree with the president's planned veto of legislation that would expand the SCHIP program, and 50 percent of those who self-identified as conservative, normally a source of strong support for President Bush, do not support the president's position. Eighty-six percent of liberals disagree with the threatened veto, along with 67 percent of moderates.

"The message is clear: Americans want SCHIP renewed and strengthened. Most uninsured children are already eligible for SCHIP, but they do not participate because of insufficient funding or enrollment barriers. Congress and the White House now have the opportunity to give millions of vulnerable children the health coverage they need in order to thrive and succeed. Without more support for SCHIP, millions of kids will remain uninsured., said Risa Lavizzo-Moury, MD, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The survey of 900 registered,likely voters was conducted August 4-7 from a sample of the proportional voting-age sample of each state. There is a margin of error of +/- 3.27 percent.