Power In the City

br Access to affordable health care for Americans has been mentioned discussed and debated in every presidential campaign since the Nixon era . The debate still rages on between various governmental bodies and advocates for public health care . Central to the debate , at least the poster child for the debate , is the proposed expansion of publicly funded health care for children . It seems simple enough that children should be able to go to the doctor when they are sick . But the controversy about the expansion of health care for children stems from the

question of at what family income level is it appropriate to provide health care at taxpayer expense ? And also the broader question , is it appropriate to provide government funded taxpayer supported health care to others , not just certain qualifying children , but to all U .S citizens as a matter of public policy

The State Children 's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP ) began in 1997 to address the problem of children without health insurance . Designed as a state /federal partnership the basis of its intent was to provide health insurance for children in families that did not qualify for Medicaid but also could not afford private health insurance . SCHIP was initially designed to provide health insurance coverage to targeted low income children . A low income child is defined as a child who is part of a family with income below 200 of the Federal Poverty Level or whose family has an income 50 higher than the state 's Medicaid eligibility income...