All the kids in my class should have health coverage

This is an excellent explanation why the SCHIP program is necessary. These kids need basic health care before their minor problems become major ones. DP

By Kate Yocum, who teaches English language development and literacy at William Walker Elementary in Beaverton, Ore.

I teach elementary school. And I want my kids to have health care coverage.

That’s why I hope the Senate will pass a bill that will enable more of my pupils to get the coverage they need.

For the most part, public schools are not health providers. But some of the students in the elementary school where I teach rely on whatever staff members can do to find eyeglasses or organize visits from the dental van.

The students in my classes are from low-income homes with parents who work at jobs that don’t offer affordable health care.

Many of these parents are immigrants. And their children, my students, are being penalized because of that.

See, the current law prohibits legal immigrants, including children, from accessing Medicaid or SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) funds.

Some of these students have suffered from acute problems, but more often are troubled by vision and hearing problems, dental problems, and anxiety and depression.

These are the kinds of health issues that, if overlooked, can have serious negative effects on a child’s progress in school.

The absence of health care is a huge but needless barrier for my students to overcome.

To make them wait five years is nothing short of cruel. During those five years, their health may seriously deteriorate.

We teachers do everything they can do to give our students the tools for success. We would never pass up an opportunity to remove a barrier to a student’s academic success.

That’s why I’m urging the Senate to get rid of this waiting period and allow all my students to access the health care they need.