President Bush, on a quick visit to Maryland yesterday, repeated his promise to veto a proposed expansion of a popular government-sponsored health insurance program, which a bipartisan group of senators is pushing as a way to provide coverage for millions more uninsured children.
In remarks to reporters after a brief, private meeting with several small-business owners in Landover, Bush said a major expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program would prompt some Americans to drop private insurance in favor of getting coverage under SCHIP, if the Senate plan became law.
Bush, who signed into law the largest expansion in the history of Medicare, the government health insurance program that covers more than 42 million elderly and disabled Americans, said he is opposed to a "massive expansion of the federal role" in health care because it would lead to "less quality care and rationing over time." Democrats counter that most states contract with private insurers to provide coverage under SCHIP.
"I believe government cannot provide affordable health care," said Bush. He added that if Congress approves an expansion of the program, it "would entail a huge tax increase for the American people. I'll veto the bill."
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to act today on a proposed $35 billion increase over the next five years in the children's program, which would cover about 3.3 million more children and be funded by a 61-cents-a-pack rise in the federal excise tax on cigarettes.
The administration has called for a $5 billion boost that would narrow the scope of the children's program. Bush prefers to expand health-care coverage for the uninsured by providing tax deductions for individuals and families, a proposal that has been sidetracked by the Democratic-controlled Congress.
Yesterday's presidential visit to Man & Machine Inc., a computer specialty products company located just inside the Capital Beltway, was intended to highlight problems faced by small-business owners, who, Bush said, are "discriminated against" by federal tax laws that favor large companies in providing health benefits to workers.
Maryland is among the most generous states in offering benefits under the children's health program, created in 1997 and run by the states using a mix of federal and state tax dollars. It is designed to provide access to medical care for working-class families that don't qualify under Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and disabled.
Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to expand the state's program, which provides insurance to more than 100,000 children, but that will depend on the level of funding approved by Congress and accepted by the president when, as expected, the law is renewed later this year.
paul.west@baltsun.com