Help Congress Override the President's Veto!
October 10, 2007 Congress is poised for an October 18 vote to override the President's October 3 veto of the compromise bill to renew and expand SCHIP the program of health care for low-income children. H.R. 976, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, would authorize $35 billion over five years to provide healthcare coverage to roughly 10 million children, about 4 million more than covered over the past 10 years. (See the Bazelon Center's August 6 Mental Health Policy Reporter)
Renewal would improve mental health coverage.
The legislation would for the first time establish parity for mental health benefits in SCHIP plans by prohibiting discriminatory financial requirements or treatment limitations.
It eliminates the provision in SCHIP that allows states electing to develop benchmark-equivalent plans to lower the amount of mental health coverage to 75 percent of the coverage provided in the benchmark plans.
It includes a six month moratorium that temporarily halts the Administration's efforts to limit reimbursement for services under Medicaid's rehabilitative services option and for school -based administration or transportation costs. These are outlined in the President's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal (see our February 22 Policy Reporter) and proposed regulations released by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (see our August 20 Action Alert). The Medicaid rehabilitative services option is critical to community-based mental health services for children and adults.
More House votes needed to override the veto.
The Senate passed the bill by a veto-proof majority (67-29). But while the House passed the bill by 265-159, that is not enough to override the President's veto. To realize the victories won in this compromise legislation, 289 House votes are needed.
Please Act Now!
If your Representative is on the following list, call today and urge him or her to vote YES for health insurance for children in low-income working families. And if you know people in those states, forward this email and ask your friends and colleagues who are constituents to make the call.
Use the toll-free number 1 800-828-0498 set up by Families USA to access the Capitol switchboard, which will connected you to your Representative's office.
Target List of Representatives
AL Robert Aderholt
AR John Boozman
CA Brian Bilbray
CA John Doolittle
CO Marilyn Musgrave
FL Gus Bilirakis
FL Ginny Brown-Waite
FL Tom Feeney
FL Rick Keller
IL Judy Biggert
IL Tim Johnson
IL Peter Roskam
IL Jerry Weller
LA Rodney Alexander
MI Joseph Knollenberg
MI Thaddeus McCotter
MI Tim Walberg
MN Michelle Bachman
MO Sam Graves
NJ Rodney Frelinghuysen
NJ Scott Garrett
NJ Jim Saxton
NY Randy Kuhl
OH Steve Chabot
OR Greg Walden
PA John Peterson
TX Kay Granger
VA Thelma Drake
VA Randy Forbes
Republicans Who Didn't Vote
CA Wally Herger
WY Barbara Cubin
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