Washington, October 06, SPA — President Bush signaled a willingness Saturday to spend more than what he had recommended for a popular children’s health program, but provided no specifics on how much higher he would go.
“If putting poor children first takes a little more than the 20 percent increase I have proposed in my budget for SCHIP, I am willing to work with leaders in Congress to find the additional money,” Bush said in his weekly radio address.
The program provides health insurance to children in families with incomes too great for Medicaid eligibility but not enough to afford private insurance.
Bush used his radio address to once again make the case that he believes the spending increase sought primarily by Democrats is a step “toward their goal of government-run health care for every American.”
“Government-run health care would deprive Americans of the choice and competition that comes from the private market,” he said. “It would cause huge increases in government spending.”
The president also said the bill moving through Congress needs to move adults off the program. However, his administration has approved waivers that allowed some states to cover adults.
“In fact, based on their own projections for this fiscal year, Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan, Rhode Island and New Mexico will spend more SCHIP money on adults than they do on children,” Bush said. “And that is not the purpose of the program.”