SEIU 1199 United Healthcare Workers East Member Testifies in front of Congress on SCHIP

My name is Carolyn Taylor Chester and I live in Baltimore with my husband Jerry and son Keith.  He is 11 years old.  

I work at Wesley Assisted Living Center in Baltimore, which just changed from a nursing home to an assisted living center.  I have worked there for almost 8 years, and I do it because I like helping the elderly and taking care of my patients.  The work is hard, and it doesn't pay much, but I get to meet special people and their families and I like making their days a little bit better.  

Last year my family earned about $20,000.  Wesley offers health insurance, but it is very, very expensive to cover my family.  There's no way in the world I'd be able to afford it. It would cost over $260 per pay period from my check to cover my husband and Keith.  That would eat up about 30% of my family's income just for health care.  On top of that, there are still deductibles and a $30 copay for each primary care visit -- and $40 copays for each visit to a specialist.  This does not even cover dental insurance either - that's more.  Every year, the cost of family coverage just keeps going up and up.  

God knows I appreciate SCHIP.  We pray on my husband staying healthy without insurance but at least our son is covered.  Keith has been helped by the Maryland CHIP program all his life.  With the Maryland CHIP program, Keith sees a pediatrician on a regular basis, gets tested early for allergies and asthma, and sees an allergist when he needs to.  My son had a lot of ailments and allergies when he was younger.  He had asthma pretty bad.  With MCHIP, we were able to treat Keith's breathing problems early, and we don't use the hospital emergency room -which is sometimes the only option for families like mine.  

The relationship you have with your doctor is one that needs to be built on trust and understanding.  Not only has Keith been able to see the same pediatrician his entire life, he's the same pediatrician I went to when I was a child! Keith also gets regular dental check-ups with the MCHIP program.  

Since we first enrolled Keith in the CHIP program 12 years ago, Maryland has made it easier for families like ours to renew our coverage through the mail.  We've moved a lot so we can live in better places.  It's now easier for us to make sure that Keith stays insured under MCHIP.  

I brought a picture of Keith with me today, because I am very proud of him.  He is a healthy and strong 6th grader who doesn't have to miss school all the time because he's sick.  He can focus on his schoolwork and just being a kid.

This is my family's story.  I wanted you to hear it because it's not just about Keith.  It's about people like my coworker Antoinette whose daughter lost her insurance when the SCHIP expansion funding was cut.  There are millions more like us whose children's lives and health depend on this program.

Thank you for your time.