Senate Panel Approves Huge Tobacco Tax to Fund Child Healthcare

Medical News Today

In an overwhelming majority of 17 to 4, and in defiance of a threatened veto by President Bush, the US Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to expand child healthcare using a large increase in tobacco tax. Most of the Republicans on the Committee joined the Democrats to vote in favour of the bill.

The current legislation for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, is due to expire at the end of September.

If passed by Congress, the new bill would entitle another 3.2 million children in low income families to receive state funded health insurance. These families can't afford medical insurance but don't qualify for Medicaid because their earnings are just above the cut off point.

If passed, the bill would bring the overall number of state insured children to around 10 million.

President Bush has said a number of times he is against the bill because it expands the government's role in healthcare and is financed by a huge tax increase. He favours a system of tax breaks to encourage uninsured people to take up private insurance.

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