New Poll Findings: Americans Strongly Support Extending SCHIP To More Children

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Public Health;  Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 24 Jul 2007 - 0:00 PST

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The vast majority of American voters strongly support extending State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) coverage to more uninsured children, according to a nationwide poll released today by Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families. This is the first poll to ask voters about much debated issues --- such as covering parents and higher income children --- arising in the SCHIP reauthorization debate. With 9 million children lacking health insurance, the public believes Congress should take action to cover more children.

In the nationwide poll conducted by a bipartisan team of pollsters, Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint, 91 percent of Americans said that they want Congress to help states cover more uninsured children and the vast majority also supported covering uninsured parents in low-income working families. Voter support for SCHIP crosses party lines, according to the poll results.

"These poll results indicate that the American public considers health care coverage for our nation's children a number one priority," said Center for Children and Families Executive Director Cindy Mann. "Voters are looking to Congress and President Bush to help move the nation forward -- not backward -- in covering uninsured families."

On each of the key issues in the SCHIP debate, the poll revealed that voters are in a very different place from the President. The bipartisan survey showed that American voters support:

-- Continuing to allow states to decide which children to cover: Nearly two-thirds of the public favors continuing to allow states to decide the income levels of the children who can be covered by SCHIP, including majorities of Republicans (61 percent), Independents (64 percent), and Democrats (68 percent).

-- Continuing to allow SCHIP to cover low-income, working uninsured parents of children enrolled in SCHIP: Eighty-four percent of the public favors allowing low-income, uninsured working parents of children in SCHIP to be covered by the program when they do not have coverage through their job, including 75 percent of Republicans, 87 percent of Independents, 88 percent of Democrats.

The national survey of 1,002 voters was conduced by Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint from June 26 to July 1, 2007, for the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The report is available on Center for Children and Families' Web site at http://ccf.georgetown.edu.

The Center for Children and Families (CCF) is an independent, nonpartisan policy center based at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute whose mission is to expand and improve health coverage for America's children and families.

Georgetown University Center for Children and Families
http://ccf.georgetown.edu