AARP Calls on Governor Schwarzenegger to Discourage Veto of SCHIP Expa...( SACRAMENTO Calif. Sept. 26 -- AA...),Health

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP asks Governor Schwarzenegger to fight on behalf of California's more than 800,000 children currently enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which would expand and extend SCHIP, covering millions of low-income uninsured children across the nation, but President Bush has vowed to veto any bill that would expand the program too much.

In a letter to the administration, Governor Schwarzenegger has said he supports the reauthorization of SCHIP. The President's promise to reject the bill puts the children of our "working poor" in danger -- the future of their health care in question. AARP asks the Governor to take swift action and tell President Bush not to veto the SCHIP expansion.

"Expanding and improving SCHIP is a step toward improving health care nationwide," remarked AARP California State Director Tom Porter. "It is an investment in our future."

Since SCHIP started, the percentage of uninsured children has fallen by a third, while the number of uninsured Americans overall continues to grow. SCHIP has been an essential buffer as fewer employers offer health coverage that families can afford.

Without needed improvements and additional funding for SCHIP, administration actuaries estimate that an additional 1.5 million children will become uninsured by 2012. The SCHIP program expires on September 30.

AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarte
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