In 2006, Pennsylvania’s landmark Cover All Kids program was enacted with historic levels of bipartisan support. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is, as Gov. Tom Corbett said recently, a ‘model in the country.’

Unfortunately, we are far from meeting the high expectations for the program. Today, approximately 148,000 children, or nearly 1 in every 18 children in the Commonwealth, remain uninsured and hundreds of thousands of working parents lack coverage.

The Affordable Care Act offers Pennsylvania about $43 billion over the next ten years to correct this. It ensures that thousands more children have health care coverage and expands Medicaid coverage to approximately 700,000 people, many of whom are working moms and dads of these uninsured or underinsured children.

So why is it that in a state where children’s health care coverage has enjoyed strong bipartisan support the Governor has dug in his heals and refused to take advantage of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act putting improved coverage for children at risk?

One reason stated by the Gov. Corbett is the fact that the federal law requires some children to have their insurance coverage shifted from CHIP to the Medicaid program.

This new federal requirement will affect a relatively small number of kids; approximately 40,000 of the 188,000 on CHIP. For these children Medicaid is a better deal because our Medicaid coverage offers children more comprehensive coverage than CHIP and it’s more cost effective for low-income families.

Parents with insurance are more likely to understand the benefits of preventive care.

For instance, Medicaid covers all medically necessary services such as check ups, sick care, dental and vision care, hospital stays and all types of mental health services as opposed to CHIP which limits the amount of care children receive.

For most kids, moving from CHIP to Medicaid will not cause significant disruptions in care. However, if Pennsylvania is concerned about disrupting active treatment, it can work with providers and parents to ensure that these transitions happen smoothly.

Gov. Corbett has pointed to this child health insurance issue as part of the reason that he opposes expanding Medicaid to working parents.

A study by the nation’s most respected Medicaid research organization, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, shows that parents enrolled in coverage are three times more likely to enroll their kids.

We also know that parents with insurance are more likely to understand the benefits of preventive care and less likely to suffer from bankruptcy or financial insecurity tied to medical debt and as result can ensure a more stable home for their children.

Three recent studies, including one by the legislature’s own Independent Fiscal Office, confirm that accepting the federal funds to expand health coverage is an economic win for Pennsylvania.

All three studies found that expanding Medicaid will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, create tens of thousands of jobs, and generate an enormous boost to our economy. So that should put the cost tapping the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to bed.

Those who crafted, passed, and implemented the Children’s Health Insurance Program in Pennsylvania were challenged along the way.

Thankfully, there were dedicated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who were willing to meet those challenges in order to ensure our children have a chance at a healthy future. Today, the program serves as a ‘model to the country’ and an enormous source of pride for Pennsylvanians.

Gov. Corbett and Harrisburg lawmakers should lead with this legacy in mind. The alternative is to walk away from an unprecedented opportunity to improve the health care of our children while also making it possible for 700,000 of our fellow residents, many of whom are the moms and dads of these children, to be insured.

Donna Cooper was Gov. Ed Rendell’s policy secretary. She is now the executive Director of Ciudadanos públicos para niños y jóvenes in Philadelphia. Estelle Richman is the former secretary of the state Department of Public Welfare. She is a member of the group’s board of directors.

The Patriot News – June 21, 2013 – Leer artículo en línea