Area hospital administrator gives thanks

To the Editor:

On behalf of the children we serve, St. Vincent Health would like to express our sincere appreciation to Senators (Evan) Bayh and (Richard) Lugar for voting to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with expanded healthcare coverage to assist more children in need.

SCHIP -- known in Indiana as Hoosier HealthWise, covers children in working families with incomes that are too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to make private insurance affordable. St. Vincent Health has been advocating for nearly two years in support of an expanded and reauthorized SCHIP. In fact, during the 2007 Cover the Uninsured Week, St. Vincent Health gathered more than 2,300 signatures on a petition supporting the reauthorization.

In Indiana, there are an estimated 131,000 uninsured children, and with the expansion of Hoosier HealthWise, an additional 66,200 will be covered, resulting in a 51 percent statewide reduction in the number of children who are uninsured.

These newly covered children will now have a chance at a healthy start in life, thanks to the support of our senators.

The unified support from Sens. Bayh and Lugar, which transcended party lines, is good news for Indiana's children.

Sincerely,

Jerry Laue,

Administrator,

St. Vincent Clay Hospital