March of Dimes Focuses on Larger Goal: Giving Every Child a Healthy Start

February 4, 2008, Washington, D.C.:  Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes, issued the following statement in response to the Fiscal Year 2009 budget released today by the Administration:

“The President's proposed budget is a backward step from the universal goal that every child has a healthy start in life.  To advance this goal we need a sustained investment in public health programs and expansion of access to health care services for women, infants and children. The funding levels and programmatic proposals will translate into even more families suffering in anguish when their children are not able to receive essential, appropriate, quality care.

• “The proposed funding levels for our nation's health agencies are inadequate to meet the medical problems confronting our children, such as preterm birth, birth defects and infant mortality.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) ability to support research, surveillance, oversight and prevention activities to improve the health of vulnerable populations would be severely constrained at the proposed funding levels.
 
• “The policy changes proposed to Medicaid and SCHIP described in this budget will curtail states' abilities to expand access to health coverage for low income pregnant women, infants and children.  According to the Institute of Medicine, health coverage is the most important factor in determining whether or not a child receives needed care, and coverage also plays a crucial role in providing access to maternity care for pregnant women.  We pledge to work with Congress to reject the proposed policy changes that would result in loss of access to coverage.
 

“The proposed renewal of the IRA charitable rollover provision is one element in the President's budget that is welcome. The March of Dimes appreciates the Administration's longstanding support for charitable organizations and policies to encourage charitable giving.  This policy, enacted in the Pension Protection Act and allowed to expire at the end of 2007, allows individuals age 70 ½ and older to contribute funds to a charity directly from an individual retirement account without facing any adverse tax consequences.”