"One of my proudest accomplishments is working in the Clinton Administration to establish the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997. As Senator, I've worked to strengthen the program and as President, I will ensure that every child -- every person -- has health insurance. I've been outraged that President Bush has not taken action to stave off shortfalls in this program which has meant so much to so many Iowa families. Tens of thousands of children in Iowa do not have health insurance. That will get worse, not better, if the President gets his way.
"Iowa has done a remarkable job enrolling children in the HAWK-I program, more than tripling the number of kids with coverage over the past six years. The projected shortfall in Iowa would force the state to cut the number of enrolled kids in half - crippling the progress of the past six years. I will be working closely with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that no state is forced to cut children from the SCHIP program. We should be expanding coverage, not cutting it. As I announced a few weeks ago, I will be introducing legislation that will expand SCHIP to help states cover every child. And as President, I will work tirelessly to have universal coverage so that no child -- no person -- in America has to worry about losing their health coverage."
Background:
According to a 2006 survey sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson, 50,000 children in Iowa do not have health insurance. According to the report, uninsured children are twice as likely not to receive any medical care in a given year compared to kids with insurance.
- 15,700 children in Iowa will be dropped - DM Reg. 3/12/07 Anita Smith, Chief of the bureua of medical support, Iowa Dept. of Human Services.
- 31,819 - number of children in Iowa enrolledin the HAWK-I Program by federal budget year 2006
- 55,000 - number of uninsured Iowa kids according to Policy Project, Mount Vernon Iowa-based research group. DM Reg. 3/12/07
Hillary Clinton, Statement of Hillary Clinton on the Projected Shortfall in HAWK-I Program Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/291226