Bush veto threatens insurance for kids

President Bush's veto Wednesday of the expanded State Children's Health Insurance Program jeopardizes North Carolina's ability to continue coverage for more than 110,000 needy children.

Despite congressional resolutions to continue the program at current funding levels, North Carolina expects to run out of federal dollars by the end of the year. That's because the current funding formula does not take population growth into account, and the state's rapid growth routinely outpaces the annual allotment.

The bipartisan bill Congress passed late last month would have addressed that disparity, more than doubling the state's annual share of the federal children's health insurance money to $334 million. The funds would have covered the existing program and possibly allowed an expansion to families with slightly higher incomes, enabling as many as 10,000 more children to get health insurance.

Now, Bush's veto has administrators of N.C. Health Choice for Children talking about freezing enrollment. The state might even have to slash benefits for current beneficiaries if Congress can't muster enough votes for an override.

Gov. Mike Easley blasted Bush's veto in a statement Wednesday.

"It is not for North Carolina adults, nor for children in families earning $80,000, nor illegal immigrants, nor for those with insurance right now," said Easley, referring to groups Bush has said would be helped by the bill he vetoed. "Those who make these claims are not telling the truth."

Easley also made clear that he expects North Carolina's congressional delegation to vote to override the president's veto. While the Senate is thought to have the two-thirds majority needed for the override, the House is expected to fall about two dozen votes short.

Two North Carolina Democrats voted against the children's health insurance expansion -- Rep. Bob Etheridge of Lillington and Rep. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton. Etheridge and McIntyre were among eight Democrats in the House who did not support the bill. None of the state's Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, supported the bill.

A spokeswoman for Etheridge said the congressman objects to paying for the expansion with a 61-cent increase in the tax on a pack of cigarettes, which he says would place a hardship on tobacco growers and their families. She said Etheridge does not support the bill as written and will not vote for an override.

McIntyre said he has the same concerns, and is also worried that illegal immigrants could qualify under the bill's relaxed eligibility standards. "That's not fair to the American people," he said.

Crucial assistance

The future of Health Choice is critical to people such as Lisa Hunter of Smithfield. Hunter said that if her 8-year-old daughter Sterling had not recently qualified for Health Choice, she would be hard pressed to pay for insulin and other supplies to manage her child's Type I diabetes. Sterling, who was diagnosed in May, needs two types of insulin, one of which costs $500 a month.

"That's not counting lancets, alcohol wipes, syringes. It's not counting test strips, which cost $60 for a box of 50," said Hunter, who is self-employed as a real estate agent and cannot afford health insurance for herself. "If it were just up to me to pay for all of that, I would be devastated. It's like having another mortgage."

State leaders have had to get creative in recent years to continue Health Choice, which is offered to families living at up to twice the federal poverty level, or $41,300 for a family of four.