AARP Praises Historic Law Boosting Children’s Health, Looks Ahead to Comprehensive Reform
Source: AARP Press Center | 2009-02-04
February 4, 2009
Contact: Jim Dau or Jordan McNerney, AARP, 202-434-2560, jdau@aarp.org or jmcnerney@aarp.org
WASHINGTON—This afternoon, AARP CEO Bill Novelli joined President Barack Obama at the White House for his signing of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. Novelli’s statement follows:
“President Obama and the Congress today fulfilled two important promises – long overdue relief for working families who struggle to keep their kids healthy, and hope that partisanship will not stand in the way of a bigger effort to reform our broken health care system.
“Keeping all American children healthy is vital for the future of our country. Ensuring their access to checkups, immunizations and urgent care will mean more of our kids grow up to be healthy adults, lifting a financial burden off our families and our health care system.
“The funding for this program shows that health reform can be a win-win for the country. By using a tax on tobacco, we are not only keeping kids healthier now, but also protecting their long-term health by discouraging smoking – a habit that causes deadly, costly and largely preventable diseases.
“Our leaders have shown the political will to make progress on health reform. Today represents more of a start than a finish – we must keep pushing to fix the health care system that squeezes all Americans and their employers.
“We can’t give in to the doubters who say health reform is impossible, just as we can’t give in to the complacent who believe it is inevitable.
“While we are disappointed that an issue so clearly important as children’s health insurance was subject to some of the partisan rancor that has prevented progress in the past, we applaud the lawmakers who chose to work through their differences. We now need more of that commitment to fix our entire health care system.
“Today, our leaders proved they understand what Americans have known for years: the cost of doing nothing is just too great.”
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
