For the second time, President George W. Bush has vetoed a bill that would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). According to Newsday, lawmakers say they will no longer seek to expand the bill.
Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said the president would have been willing to sign a bill that would increase SCHIP’s funding by only $20 billion over five years instead of the proposed $35 billion over five years. Lawmakers modified the bill after the first veto but didn’t lower the proposed funding amount. (Kaiser Network)
Some lawmakers were concerned that the bill’s expansion would result in SCHIP coverage of families who could afford private health insurance, at the expense of low-income families.
