Sen. Lyda Green has proposed adding two anti-abortion bills to the special session. The subject would create a divisive environment. Sen. Hollis French, an attorney, believes the bills are unconstitutional under state law. Rep. John Harris says they don't have the votes in the Senate to pass them.
Sounds like a waste of time, doesn't it?
A better task for the session would be to pass SB 212, the Denali KidCare bill. Gov. Palin can give more Alaska children a healthier beginning by including Denali KidCare in the special session. In just minutes the Legislature can act to extend health care to an additional 1,200 Alaska children and 200 pregnant women of working families without health insurance. The entire state and Legislature should be proud to make this the law.
Every child should have quality health care. Denali KidCare provides excellent health insurance coverage for children and teens through age 18, and for pregnant women who meet family income guidelines. The federal government pays 70 percent of the cost and Alaska pays 30 percent.
SB 212 would increase the eligibility limit for Denali KidCare to cover kids and pregnant women in families with incomes up to 200 percent above the poverty level, the norm in most states.
Coverage at 200 percent above the poverty level was the standard in Alaska until 2003. That's when Gov. Murkowski and the Legislature changed the law to cut the state's budget. And now, in this year of record oil income and an enormous capital budget, we failed to restore health coverage for our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. It would have cost between $750,000 and $1.5 million. But we will pay $2 million for an artificial turf football field. Where is the outrage?
Some people are more responsible for this situation than others. The extra money for Denali KidCare was appropriated in the budget. The Senate passed the bill. Time still remained on the clock, but Rep. John Coghill used his power as chair of the Rules Committee to stop the bill. Coghill is one of the House's leading opponents of abortion. It's reasonable to assume, to hope, that his pro-life sentiments extend to pre-natal care for pregnant women and to health care for a child after it is born. Alas, it seems the answer is no.
A lack of coverage delays treatment and increases the potential risks to the health of a child. No prenatal care can mean early deliveries, lower birth weights and other pregnancy complications. This overloads our emergency rooms and increases our insurance rates. Or it means that Alaska children and pregnant women get no care at all, which can lead to dire consequences. A syndicated columnist in this paper just wrote about the deaths of a pregnant woman and her baby, because the woman had no health insurance. (April 14)
Denali KidCare keeps kids in school and keeps parents at work instead of at home caring for a sick child.
As a woman who has had five children, Sarah Palin knows how important quality prenatal care is to ensure the health of a newborn. As governor she should know the cost of a pregnancy without health insurance. She should know the potential costs for a hospitalization of a seriously ill child. She should know medical bills can cause a huge financial crisis particularly for low-income families without insurance.
Gov. Palin can make this happen. Call, write or e-mail our governor and encourage her to add the Denali KidCare bill to the upcoming special session.
Robin Smith lives in Anchorage.
By ROBIN SMITH