The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to expand a key health insurance program for children that President George W. Bush vetoed twice last year. With less than a week left in Bush's term, it is a fitting repudiation of the president's misguided health policies.

No American child should grow up without health insurance and the regular medical care it provides. Just as we provide coverage for every elderly American, we also should ensure that every child is protected.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program, sometimes called SCHIP, covers about 6 million kids in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy health insurance on their own.

The bill approved by the House on Wednesday would renew their coverage. It also would extend benefits to another 3.5 million children in families earning up to three times the federal poverty limit, about $51,500 for a family of three. That's been the eligibility level in Missouri since SCHIP was created in 1998.

Expansion of the program was approved twice by overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate. It attracted support from many leading Republicans. But President Bush vetoed it both times, arguing that it was unneeded.

That wasn't true before last year's economic meltdown. It's even less true now, with unemployment reaching levels not seen in decades.

Some 2.5 million U.S. jobs were lost during 2008, about 2 million of them in the last four months. For most Americans, the loss of a job also means the loss of health insurance coverage — both for the laid-off worker and his family.

Laid-off workers can choose to continue paying for health insurance from their employer, but most can't afford to do so. A study released this week found that the cost of that continued coverage is equal to more than three-quarters of the average unemployment benefit paid to a worker in Missouri.

But covering kids is relatively inexpensive. Each child enrolled in Missouri's SCHIP program costs about $131 a month. Most of that money comes from the federal government and so-called provider taxes paid by hospitals and managed care companies.

That investment pays off in healthier children who miss fewer days of school and are better able to learn.

The Senate should quickly follow the House lead and ensure that the bill is ready for President-elect Barack Obama's signature when he takes office next week.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.