Ritter backs increase in SCHIP funding

The Denver Business Journal - 4:13 PM MDT Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Wednesday joined other state leaders and organizations in supporting the reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Congress and President George W. Bush must reauthorize SCHIP -- called Child Health Plan Plus in Colorado -- before the end of September in order for the program to be expanded.

The two sides are engaged in a debate over expanding the program's funding.

While Congress recently approved legislation that would expand the funding for the program by $35 billion over five years, the president has threatened to veto the legislation, saying it would take America one step closer to "socialized medicine."

Ritter, a Democrat, expressed concerns that the program is getting "bogged down by politics."

"Far too many kids in Colorado and across the nation are uninsured and do not receive the care they need, but things could soon get even worse," Ritter said at a press conference Wednesday.

Recent statistics suggest that more than 180,000 children are uninsured in the state. Colorado is among the states with the highest uninsured population.

The state's 770,000 uninsured residents are believed to be a factor in rising health insurance premiums since providers like hospitals pass unreimbursed expenses on to insurers which in turn raise rates for those who have coverage.

Colorado Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien, a Democrat who is regarded as an advocate of children's issues, has said Bush's veto would, in effect, cut kids from the program and further increase the number of Colorado's uninsured.

Along with Ritter and O'Brien, participants in Wednesday's press conference included former Sen. Norma Anderson, a Republican; Jeff Selberg, president and CEO of Exempla Healthcare; and David Colby, vice president of research and evaluation for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.