It’s World Series week, and Congressman Mike McCaul is about to get another chance to improve his batting average when a measure providing uninsured Texas kids the kind of health insurance program he enjoys comes up again for debate.
So far, he’s batting 0-2.
First, he voted against the bi-partisan SCHIP bill that would have extended coverage to nearly 1.4 million Texas children whose parents work hard and earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. Then, he remained in lockstep with the Bush-Cheney administration and voted against overriding the President’s veto.
Forty-four Republicans joined the Democratic majority in voting to override last week and guarantee access to affordable health care for the children of parents who are working hard and playing by the rules. They ignored the misinformation spread by the White House and did the right thing.
But not Mr. McCaul. So here are some facts to help him do the right thing, too:
- More than 90 percent of those families covered by SCHIP earn less than $41,000 a year and can’t afford the average $12,000 annual premiums to cover their children.
- McCaul and his fellow ideologues claim the SCHIP proposal would cover families earning $83,000 a year. But they’re wrong — and they know it. No state, including Texas, can cover higher-income families without approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which President Bush controls.
- SCHIP is a fiscally responsible plan that saves local taxpayers money by guaranteeing access to health care at the doctor's office, not the emergency room.
- SCHIP isn’t a step toward the kind of government-run health care McCaul and his cronies enjoy. Under the proposal, states are free to provide health coverage any way they choose — and most of them, including Texas, choose to use private insurers to deliver coverage.
- SCHIP is aimed directly at those who need it. States earn bonuses for enrolling those most in need and lose federal matching funds if they don't cover the poorest children — and it phases out coverage for those few adults who are currently enrolled.
The issue isn’t going away. More than 80 percent of Americans favor the measure Mr. McCaul has voted against — twice. The question now is whether he will be independent enough next time to swing for the fences or continue to look to the bench for instructions on what to do.