Congressional Republicans have been frustrated in their efforts to harm millions of Americans by eliminating Medicaid expansion, increasing health insurance premiums for poor and older individuals, and turning back the clock to allow insurance companies to set rates based on pre-existing conditions.

Now, they have turned their attention to harming children, by allowing the Children’s Health Insurance Program to expire.

CHIP covers healthcare for approximately nine million children of lower-middle income families, who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance. It covers everything from routine visits to inpatient hospital stays and emergency services.

CHIP also pays for preventive care that benefits all children, even those outside the program.

After allowing CHIP to expire, House Republications are proposing a new bill to fund the program.

At first glance, it looks appealing. By taking Medicaid away from lottery winners who don’t need it and charging higher Medicare premiums who can afford it, the bill provides some of the funding needed for continuing CHIP for five years.

However, there are some disturbing details within the bill.

The lottery winner clause, for example, appears to be a gimmick. It only accounts for $400 million in expected savings, while the bill claims $5 billion in savings by shortening the grace period for the Affordable Care Act marketplace premiums for 90 to 30 days. This disproportionately hurts low income Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.

The bill also cuts more than $5 billion from the ACA’s Prevention and Public Health fund. This is penny wise and pound foolish. Prevention of illness is the most effective way to improve health and reduce health care expenditures.

Fred Upton could help atone for his hypocritical support for the Obamacare repeal act, passed by the House of Representatives, by supporting a renewal of CHIP, with no sideline penalties such as trying to fund it on the backs of the poor and disadvantaged. Please demand that Upton do the right thing this time.

Susann Pangerl

New Buffalo