Democratic lawmakers walked out of the House of Representatives today to show their opposition to attempts to limit the Peachcare child health plan.
"The House and Senate are both making it harder for working families to find health care for their kids," says House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin). He says his party had to walk out because it could support neither the House version nor the Senate version of a bill to change Peachcare eligibility requirements, and lawmakers were being asked to choose between them.
Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) shrugged off the Democrats' action as "childish."
The move came after House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) asked representatives to disagree to changes the Senate had made to his original bill. Richardson wants to limit future Peachcare enrollment to families that make under 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $40,000 for a family of four. The current limit is 235 percent, or $47,000 for the same family.
"Peachcare is not a constitutional right," Richardson said. "Health insurance is not a God-given, inherent constitutional right that you take money from one taxpayer and give to another."
Richardson's bill passed the House mostly along party lines. Then, senators swapped it for their own version of Peachcare limits. They would expand Medicaid to include the poorest Peachcare recipients, raise premiums for some Peachcare families, and create an "extended" program for families that make a little more, for a cost. Senators passed their version on Tuesday, again mostly along party lines.
After the House disagreed with the Senate bill, Porter met reporters in the hallway. He contends that both versions are unnecessary because Peachcare is part of a federal program currently undergoing review in Congress. He further questioned GOP budget negotiators' decision to send property taxpayers rebates of $101 or less, rather than spend that $142 million on healthcare.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has also questioned the proposed tax break, which raises suspicions that he might call lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session on the 2007 midyear budget.
"The House and Senate are both making it harder for working families to find health care for their kids," says House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin). He says his party had to walk out because it could support neither the House version nor the Senate version of a bill to change Peachcare eligibility requirements, and lawmakers were being asked to choose between them.
Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) shrugged off the Democrats' action as "childish."
The move came after House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) asked representatives to disagree to changes the Senate had made to his original bill. Richardson wants to limit future Peachcare enrollment to families that make under 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $40,000 for a family of four. The current limit is 235 percent, or $47,000 for the same family.
"Peachcare is not a constitutional right," Richardson said. "Health insurance is not a God-given, inherent constitutional right that you take money from one taxpayer and give to another."
Richardson's bill passed the House mostly along party lines. Then, senators swapped it for their own version of Peachcare limits. They would expand Medicaid to include the poorest Peachcare recipients, raise premiums for some Peachcare families, and create an "extended" program for families that make a little more, for a cost. Senators passed their version on Tuesday, again mostly along party lines.
After the House disagreed with the Senate bill, Porter met reporters in the hallway. He contends that both versions are unnecessary because Peachcare is part of a federal program currently undergoing review in Congress. He further questioned GOP budget negotiators' decision to send property taxpayers rebates of $101 or less, rather than spend that $142 million on healthcare.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has also questioned the proposed tax break, which raises suspicions that he might call lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session on the 2007 midyear budget.
