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On Monday, President Bush unveiled his budget which revealed several proposals that would disproportionately affect the New England states.

· An additional $12-15 billion is needed to just fill the anticipated SCHIP shortfall over the next 5 years. Bush's budget provided an additional $5 billion which is significantly less than the projected shortfall and will likely result in children losing healthcare. It also limits future efforts to enroll additional children in the program.

· Four New England states (CT, ME, MA & VT) cover children up to 300% of FPL ($60,000 for a family of four) and RI covers children up to 250% of FPL ($50,000 for a family of four). Bush's budget reduces SCHIP funding for children over 200% of FPL and for all parents. In a region where the cost of living is so high and we have done the right thing by covering more of our children, New England will be disproportionately penalized.

· SCHIP has worked in partnership with Medicaid to successfully cover our children. Both programs must be well-funded to stay strong. Bush’s budget proposes a $25.7 billion cut to the Medicaid program.

What You Can Do:

Now is the time for action! The New England Alliance for Children’s Health has commissioned a regional poll to demonstrate the overwhelming support for children’s healthcare coverage in the region. It is a large poll (2,400 people surveyed – 400 per state) that will give us reliable regional and state data and serve as a critical tool for talking to our federal delegations and governors about the urgent need to protect SCHIP and Medicaid.

ACTION STEPS:

1. Participate in the release of the New England SCHIP & Medicaid poll. The Alliance’s polling data will be released on a state-by-state basis during the last week of February (or the first week of March in NH). It is critical that a large coalition in each state come together in support of SCHIP and Medicaid. Please contact our lead partner (see the list below) in your state to get involved.

2. Meet with Members of Congress (week of Feb. 19th): Call the schedulers for your members of Congress and make appointments to visit with them when they are home on recess the week of Feb. 19th (if they are not coming home during the recess, try to set up a conference call.) We can provide you with embargoed polling data for the meeting, and a one page handout on SCHIP. These documents will be available next week.

3. Engage Your Governor: Set up a time to meet with your Governor and his staff and ask him to do two things: 1) The National Governor’s Association will be meeting Feb 24-25th. Ask your governor to urge the NGA to formally recommend to Congress a significant increase in SCHIP funding to fill the shortfall and to expand children's coverage. 2) Ask your Governor to weigh in with the Congressional delegation and reiterate the importance of the SCHIP reauthorization and the need to secure additional funding to cover more children.

We have been preparing for this debate for many months, and the time is now here. Take action. Have your voice be heard. Advocate for the children of your state.

For Additional SCHIP Information, Please Visit:

Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families http://ccf.georgetown.edu/

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities http://www.cbpp.org/