Article Date: 08 Oct 2007 - 1:00 PDT
Internal medicine physicians and medical students today expressed their great disappointment in President Bush's veto of the bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The sentiment was expressed in a letter sent to the White House by David C. Dale, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP).
On behalf of the 124,000 internal medicine physicians and medical student members of ACP, Dr. Dale said, "We respectfully request that you reconsider your opposition to this bipartisan bill to provide coverage to families from lower income families."
"This carefully-crafted House-Senate compromise is targeted at continuing to protect the nation's poorest of children whose parents are unable to afford health insurance on their own," Dr. Dale explained. "If SCHIP is not reauthorized, millions of children will be denied basic health care needs to give a child a healthy and successful start in life."
"We disagree with your view of this legislation as an expansion of government-run insurance," Dr. Dale noted. "Rather, SCHIP is a public-private partnership where nearly 70 percent of children already receive coverage through private insurers and this legislation will expand private insurance even further."
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