WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich Wednesday lobbied Congress to support a health insurance measure he said would aid children.
Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation, urged Republican lawmakers to support funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, his office said in a news release.
Gingrich told members of the Conservative Opportunity Society that if the funding for the federal program is allowed to run out, hundreds of thousands of children will be left without healthcare.
"The disruption in care, and the pain and upheaval this will cause for families across the country would be unconscionable." Gingrich told the conservative organization. "But it is also avoidable."
Funding for SCHIP programs in more than 12 U.S. states will be depleted in 12 days and no extensions have been passed by the Congress as of yet.
To avoid such a lapse in healthcare coverage, Gingrich urged Congress to pass a six-month extension for the program.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
