Congressional Republicans Hate Babies.

In one of their last acts, the Republican Congress considered Health Care. They were faced with two competing priorities:

1. Saving S-CHIP funding for children.
2. Making Health Savings Accounts MORE of a tax shelter for the wealthy.

What do you think they did?

It is stunning that as one of its final acts, Congress chose to attach to the tax extenders bill a provision making Health Savings Accounts more lucrative as tax shelters for wealthy individuals even as Congress refused to provide funds needed to ensure that up to 600,000 low-income children keep their health insurance through the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 2007.

With thanks to the Physicians for a National Health Plan, of which NC Defend Health Care is the state chapter. Join the email list and get our weekly email newsletter.

Facts and Figures below the break.
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

In a prior analysis, we estimated that under current law, a number of states will have insufficient federal funding under SCHIP in fiscal year 2007 to sustain their existing SCHIP programs and that Congress will have to provide additional federal SCHIP funding to avert these shortfalls. …
This updated analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, based on the latest available data, indicates that 17 states will have nearly $921 million less in federal SCHIP funds than they will need in fiscal year 2007 to maintain their existing SCHIP programs (see Table 1 for a list of states and their estimated shortfalls). Without additional federal funds to close these gaps, these 17 states will either have to increase state funding for SCHIP or scale back their SCHIP programs by reducing eligibility, capping enrollment, eliminating benefits, increasing beneficiary cost-sharing or cutting payments to providers. In states that cut back their programs, significant numbers of SCHIP beneficiaries will be at risk: the $921 million in shortfalls projected for 2007 is equivalent to the cost of covering 630,000 children under the SCHIP program.
…
In addition, the overall federal funding level for SCHIP fell 26 percent in fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004 (from $4.25 billion per year in 2000 and 2001 to $3.12 billion each year from 2002 through 2004), forcing states to draw down their funds from prior years more rapidly. Finally, after fiscal years 2004 and 2005, some $1.4 billion in unspent SCHIP funds from prior years were allowed to expire and revert to the U.S. Treasury rather than being extended and redistributed to states that could use these funds to avert, or reduce the magnitude of, the approaching funding shortfalls.
…
Legislation to fully address the shortfall could be enacted in the upcoming lame-duck Congressional session scheduled for December, possibly in a package with other health legislation such as an adjustment to Medicare physician payments. This analysis indicates that without Congressional action this year to provide additional federal SCHIP funding, up to 630,000 children could be at risk of losing their health insurance coverage.

Again, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

As part of the last-minute deal making today on the “tax extenders” package, House and Senate negotiators have agreed to include an expansion of Health Savings Accounts that would make these accounts more lucrative as tax shelters for high-income individuals. The HSA expansion is identical to legislation (H.R. 6134) introduced by Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) that was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee in September. The legislation was never considered on the House floor or by the Senate either in committee or on the floor.

Among those states facing a budget shortfall? North Carolina = $17,552,000.