Child Health

Several weeks ago, there were several posts (see here, here and here) about the SCHIP debate and how the Catholic faithful ought to respond.  I agree there are matters of judgment in how we address this situation, but I hope we can agree that we face a serious problem in this country with respect to ensuring the health of our children.  As Congress continues to seek agreement on a revised bill that would survive a presidential veto, let us keep in the front of our minds the fact that 9 million children in this country lack health insurance, about 70% of whom live in families with incomes below 200% of the poverty line.  Approximately one-third of those children without medical insurance go without medical care for an entire year.  Not surprisingly, uninsured children are substantially more likely to miss school and to have untreated vision problems, making it more likely they will fall behind in school.  (See here for some of these statistics.)