SCHIP blends right in to the topic of socialized medicine, because it illustrates
how incremental changes only go in one direction -- making the government bigger, more expensive and
more intrusive. How does that happen? Because supposedly good ideas are usually introduced
as something that will benefit "America's children." After all, what kind of heartless politician could
vote against the children? In a way, this also illustrates how people make decisions based
on emotion instead of rational thinking.
SCHIP Is for Children in Name Only.
The [SCHIP] program has strayed far from its original mission. A study by Jonathan Gruber of MIT confirmed
that six of every 10 people covered by SCHIP expansions already had private coverage. What this means is
SCHIP is extending coverage to previously insured children. It is crowding out private insurance coverage.
Further scrutiny reveals that SCHIP has also strayed from its mission of targeting the needy.
Sinking SCHIP: A First Step toward
Stopping the Growth of Government Health Programs. SCHIP and its larger sibling Medicaid
currently enroll many people who do not need government assistance, including some families of four
earning up to $72,000 per year. That is a direct result of federal funding rules that reward
states for making more Americans dependent on government for their health care.
State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP). The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created in 1997 as a
supplement to Medicaid. It was originally designed to serve as a "safety net" for children in families
whose annual incomes exceed Medicaid limits but who cannot afford private health coverage. The program
has grown in scope since its inception, and today just over 10 percent of the 6 million enrollees
nationwide are over the age of 18.
Does SCHIP
Work? Pres. Barack Obama proclaimed in his inaugural address, "The question we ask today is not
whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works." If he was serious, he should veto
the $115 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program that is soon to reach his
desk — and insist that Congress eliminate the program entirely.
Obama and the Liberal
Freeloader Culture. Liberals have made freeloading into a way of life — even for the
well to do. There's the well-to-do woman who cadges free meds from a physician relative. There's
the well-to-do woman who's signed up for her state's basic health plan. There's 2007's S-CHIP poster
child whose parents can afford late-model cars and private school tuition but not health insurance.
Subsidized Health
Care: a view from the exam room. When serving in the Rural Health Center in my community,
my colleagues and I offered free or discounted care for a large number of patients. Many were covered by
Medi-Cal or one of dozens of state programs paid for by the taxpayers of California. The following items
were commonly seen on patients or carried by their dependent children, who were also covered by subsidized
programs:
• Cell phones and "BlackBerry" PDAs, including just-released models with a price tag
of $400, plus an ongoing monthly service fee of $65-$150
• iPods and portable DVD players
• GameBoys and handheld electronic games
• Artificial fingernails requiring maintenance every two weeks...
• Elaborate braided hair weaves, $300 per session plus frequent maintenance
• Custom-designed body art...
The Latest Entitlement: The
House made its first down payment on President Obama's health-care plans last week, passing 289-139 a major
expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The Senate is scheduled to take it up soon
and pass it easily as well. These days tens of billions in new spending is a mere pittance, but Schip
is also the Democratic model for a quantum jump in government health care down the line.
SCHIP Expansion Amounts to
'Socialized Medicine' Senate Republicans Say. Senate Republicans say expansion of the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) amounts to an attempt by congressional Democrats to socialize
the nation's health-care system.
Senators Approve Health Bill for
Children. The Senate passed a bill on Thursday [1/29/2009] to provide health insurance to more than four
million uninsured children, as a newly empowered Democratic majority brushed aside Republican objections. The vote
was 66 to 32, with nine Republicans joining Democrats to support the bill.
Obama breaks five-day pledge.
President Barack Obama kept one campaign pledge Wednesday afternoon and at the same time violated another when
he signed into law the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which extends health care coverage to
11 million low-income children. The White House views the SCHIP legislation as a down payment
on Obama's pledge to provide universal health care by the end of his first term.
Obama's First Tax Hike.
President Obama approved his first tax hike today [2/4/2009]. The bill he signed to expand the State
Children's Health Insurance Program contains a provision to increase taxes on tobacco by a whopping
155 percent. That means the federal taxes on cigarettes have gone up an additional 61 cents
a pack. This brings federal taxes on a pack of cigarettes to $1 per pack total.
Our Spendthrift
States Don't Need a Bailout. Last year at this time, many governors and state legislators were
imploring Congress to let them spend more money by expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Since the states share the cost of the program with Washington, the expansion would have allowed them to cover
families with incomes up to 300% of the poverty level (more in some cases). It also would have meant
hundreds of millions in additional state spending, and an estimated $24 billion in additional federal
spending. President Bush vetoed the bill. Today, governors and state legislators are singing a
different tune.
The SCHIP to Socialized
Medicine. The debate on Congressional reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) is colored by popular myths. The worst of the myths may be the notion that the CHIP
debate in Washington is about insurance. But it is actually about expanding a welfare program.
Socialized
Medicine for 'Kids'. Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller's version would triple SCHIP's current
five-year cost of $25 billion to a level of $75 billion. That would grant federal largesse to
more than just poor "kids" (as politicians endearingly call children). An estimated 71 percent of
all American children in families of four making as much as $82,000 a year would become eligible, with states
also continuing present coverage of adults under SCHIP.
Child's Play.
In truth, I do love kids. But it's the "the" in The Children that's the problem. It transforms
children into a principle for which any violation of limited government is justified. … The idea was as
simple as it was brilliant: By making The Children the beneficiaries of welfare rather than the adults,
the left could portray any attempt to curb the welfare state as "anti-child."
SCHIP Expansion: Socialized
Medicine on the Installment Plan. The State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) was created by Congress and President Bill Clinton as part of Balanced Budget Act of
1997. SCHIP was intended to give $24 billion in federal matching funds over ten
years to state governments for the provision of health insurance to about 5 million
uninsured children. Eligibility was supposed to be restricted to children whose parents
earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, but less than 200 percent of the federal poverty
level. Like most government programs, SCHIP soon exceeded its intent.
SCHIP of State:
The battle over the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, is a perfect first example of how
Democrats intend to play their spending fights this fall. They're demanding at least $30 billion
more than Mr. Bush's own generous $5 billion SCHIP increase. Any congressional Republican who
votes against this hike will be accused of leaving "poor kids" to suffer without health care. The goal here,
as it will be in all the big money fights to come — appropriations bills, a farm bill —
will be to make it too politically hot for Republicans to stand by their spending principle.
SCHIP Expansion Uses Smoke Screen.
SCHIP expansion is known by Washington insiders as a blatant effort to incrementally introduce Hillary Care.
Its strategic success is founded on the deceptive argument that "it's for the kids and tobacco will pay for it."
SCHIP off the Old Block.
The new House bill's "pregnant woman" rule seeks to deny the existence of the child in utero while still covering
the adolescent mother. This is a calculated move to open the door to federal taxpayer-funded abortions.
In the 17 states that now fund elective abortions (14 of them are forced to do so by court order) this coverage
could be used as a license to kill.
The
'S' in S-CHIP is for 'socialist'. There can be no better contemporary example of the creeping
crud of socialism than the congressional exploits surrounding reauthorization of the State Children's Health
Insurance Program. But it's refreshing to see President Bush has drawn such a deep line in the sand.
Whether it's a Maginot line, however, remains to be seen.
Sinking SCHIP: A First Step toward Stopping
the Growth of Government Health Programs. Federal lawmakers are considering legislation that could
result in millions more middle income families obtaining health insurance from government. Unfortunately,
the debate over expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program is divorced from the reality of who
truly needs assistance and the forces that are making health insurance increasingly unaffordable. SCHIP
and its larger sibling Medicaid currently enroll many people who do not need government assistance, including
some families of four earning up to $72,000 per year.
SCHIP's Perverse Incentives:
Picking the worst government program would be a huge challenge, but picking the worst funding system is much
easier. Programs involving joint federal-state funding contain built-in incentives to expand the size of
government because politicians at either level can buy more votes by expanding the program, knowing that they
only have to pay (depending on the formula) a share of the cost. In other words, lawmakers can promise
$1 worth of goodies for, say, 50 cents. This is one of the reasons why Medicaid is a fiscal
disaster.
Sink this SCHIP. SCHIP is senseless.
Like its much larger sibling, Medicaid, the program forces taxpayers to send their money to Washington so that
Congress can send it back to state governments with strings attached. Both programs force taxpayers to
subsidize people who don't need help, discourage low-income families from climbing the economic ladder —
and make private insurance more expensive for everyone else.
Jindal Care. "I
say this with good conscience: every year we don't do anything about the uninsured, we end up, by
default, moving closer to a single-payer system," Louisiana Secretary of Health and Hospitals Alan Levine
warned TAS in an interview. "Because every year, more people get enrolled in Medicare, more people get
enrolled in Medicaid, and more people get enrolled in SCHIP... that by itself is having a death spiral effect
on private insurance." And a single-payer system, he added, "would be a disaster."
Eligibility
in New Jersey for 'poor' program includes families of 4 making $72,000. President George W.
Bush dismissed an agreement reached yesterday [9/21/2007] by congressional leaders to expand the government's
children's health insurance program and said he will veto the measure. "Members of Congress are risking
health coverage for poor children purely to make a political point," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Veto May Spur House
Struggle Over CHIP Bill. Democrats said they plan to pressure House Republicans to support the
bill and hope to vote on overriding the president's veto in mid-October. For some Republicans, it is a
dicey political move to vote against a popular spending program and side with an unpopular president.
Abandon SCHIP: Big Government
Returns. In just ten short years SCHIP has gone from being a program for struggling families to
a permanent middle class entitlement. The alternative — a reform of private insurance to
expand coverage for all Americans — has gained little attention during the debate.
The cold
cackle of opportunism: Legislation like this makes nearly everybody feel warm and fuzzy, like a
supper of beef stew and cornbread on a cold winter's night. Who wants the little children to be sick?
And if the government pays for it — the health insurance, not the beef stew and cornbread — it
doesn't cost anybody anything. The voters get "free" insurance, the congressmen get free protection against
losing an election. It's win-win all around.
The SCHIP
Hits the Fan. Hillary Clinton, now seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has put forth
a vision of health care for all the uninsured which would be funded by increasing federal income taxes, raising
tobacco taxes and raising capital gains taxes. This would assure a universal health care system, she
contends, and move us in the direction of socialized medicine (a term she has been careful not to use).
Why do you hate
children so much?! [SCHIP is] bad policy for a myriad of reasons — it doesn't
prioritize truly poor children; "children's insurance" actually covers adults; you can make $80,000 dollars a
year in some cases and still qualify for it; it will incentivize people to get off of employer insurance rolls
and have taxpayers foot the bill; it's funding mechanism — a cigarette tax — is effectively
a tax on the poor; the way the proposed program's "funding cliff" is set up will encourage expansion of the
program in five years time; it's a step in the direction of socialized medicine;….
Schip Howlers: After
President Bush vetoed Congress's major expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, Nancy Pelosi
declared: "President Bush used his cruel veto pen to say, 'I forbid 10 million children from getting
the health benefits they deserve.'" As far as political self-parody goes, that one ought to enter the
record books. It's wrong on the facts, for one, which Speaker Pelosi knows.
Let SCHIPs Chart Their Own Course. The
Framers would have insisted on nothing less, as reflected in the Constitution's Health Care Clause. Oh,
wait. The Constitution has no Health Care Clause. Nor does it include any other provision that
authorizes Congress to spend taxpayers' money on health insurance for the children of the working poor, the
grandparents of the middle class, the nephews of the super-rich, or the kin of any other socioeconomic group.
Still, Bartlett and Bush deserve some credit for resisting the expansion of a highly popular program that never
should have been created to begin with, especially since they knew they'd be accused of being stingy child
haters.
Sinking
SCHIP: A Defining Moment. The left-wing elite is in high dudgeon over conservatives who have dared
to question the wisdom of extending the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to middle-class families,
adults and even illegal aliens to the tune of $35 billion — funding dependent on saddling millions
of smokers with regressive taxes and maintaining their nicotine addictions.
The Democrats' SCHIP Runs
Aground. After smearing a compassionate conservative in their attempt to override President
Bush's veto of an overloaded SCHIP bill, Democrats promise to try again. Maybe next time they will
tell the truth.
Beating Back
S-CHIP: Government policies have made enough of a mess of health care that even middle-class
families can have trouble finding affordable health insurance. But the S-CHIP expansion is a perverse
solution to this problem. Its design guarantees that it will transfer money from poor states to rich
ones, and from poor people to middle-class ones. It will lead to worse health care for some children.
It will reduce social mobility by creating a poverty trap (wherein getting raises leads to a loss of benefits
and thus of total income).
Attack on President Bush Continues Past SCHIP
Veto Override Vote. Democratic Rep. Pete Stark launched a shocking one-man assault on the Bush
administration Thursday [10/18/2007], interrupting floor debate before a failed attempt to override President
Bush's veto of the so-called SCHIP bill to suggest that U.S. troops in Iraq are getting their heads "blown off
for the president's amusement." The vote to override the veto of the State Children's Health Insurance
Program bill failed, 273-156, 14 votes shy of the number necessary.
Cigar Tax Up
6,000% to Pay for SCHIP. The increase in federal tobacco taxes that congressional Democrats are
proposing to fund their new healthcare initiative is being praised by anti-smoking advocates as an effective
way to discourage tobacco sales. … The tax hikes would include raising the federal cigarette tax from
39 cents to one dollar. Additionally, the tax cap on cigars would be raised from five cents to
three dollars, a 6,000 percent increase.
The
children's crusade — for socialized medicine. The children's health program
is the occasion of the biggest domestic-policy dust-up of Bush's presidency. Bush vetoed the
Democratic re-authorization of the bill as too profligate. The House upheld his veto, but not
without Democrats gleefully portraying the president as an enemy of children's health.
Bush
says time wasted on SCHIP. President Bush said yesterday [10/26/2007] that congressional
Democrats are "wasting time"passing legislation to expand children's health coverage that they know he will
veto, and he also said lawmakers are dragging their feet on a slew of other bills and one key nomination.
"This is not what congressional leaders promised when they took control of Congress earlier this year," the
president said.
A Moral Case Against SCHIP Expansion:
When it comes to SCHIP, even some on the right have lost their moral compass — having fallen
victim, perhaps, to the notion that if it involves "the children" then they should abandon both
principle and common sense. But with the left's attempt to expand medical entitlement benefits
to the middle class, this is no time for compromise. For even compromise will work toward their
ultimate goal of incrementally socializing healthcare.
If Congress Truly Wants
to Help Children: There has been a whole lot of hoopla over the past few weeks with the Democrats'
latest attempt at foisting an expanded socialist encroachment upon the American electorate (SCHIP), via the
really-getting-old-now, "It's-for-the-Children," ploy. Nancy and Hillary both need to re-read their worn
copies of Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. That ruthless revolutionary knew that once the folks see through
your tactic, it becomes not only tiresome, but downright irritating.
SCHIP's
Path for Illegal Immigrants: [Scroll down] Across the table sit two dozen House Republicans who have
indicated a willingness to "negotiate" over such issues as whether a program designed to deliver health coverage
to children in families slightly above the poverty level should cover adults, children from middle-class families
earning more than $62,000, and illegal immigrants. Yes, illegal immigrants. This last issue promises to be
the most difficult one to resolve.
Bush
Sinks SCHIP Again. Saying that the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) bill that came to his desk on Wednesday [12/12/2007] was identical to the bill he
vetoed in October, President George W. Bush again vetoed a measure that would extend
and expand federal funding for the program.
How Can You Oppose Health Care for Children?
Congress has again passed an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), only to have it
vetoed again. That has given its backers yet another chance to proclaim how much they care for children
and rehash attacks against President Bush, as when Lois Capps (D-CA) called it "denying vital healthcare to
some of the most vulnerable in our society," and promise to try again next year.
SCHIP Expansion: Robin Hood in
Reverse. The increase in federal spending on health insurance for kids will go largely to
children who could have had private coverage anyway. Yet under SCHIP, these children will have less
access to care than they currently have. Funding for this effort will come from people who have less
income than the families who will benefit.
The President's Proposals for
Medicaid and SCHIP: One Step Forward, One Step Back. Last year, the
President took a prudent and fiscally conservative approach to reauthorizing SCHIP by
proposing an increase of $5 billion over five years. He now proposes spending four
times that amount, recommending $20 billion over five years. By 2013, spending on
SCHIP would top $46.3 billion, almost doubling its current cost. Moreover, the
proposal would dedicate $50 million in FY 2009 and $100 million in each of
the next four years for outreach. The goal, as described by the Department of
Health and Human Services, is to increase enrollment 3 percent by FY 2009 and
12 percent by FY 2012.
Emphasis added.
The Latest:
Hawaii ending universal
child health care. Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in
the country just seven months after it launched. Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget
shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state
official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized
plan.
Tragedy Averted. Seven
months. That's all it took before Hawaii concluded that the only state universal child medical coverage program
in the country is unsustainable. Give officials credit for heading off a disaster.
What Do We Really Know About the
Uninsured? Next year, when Barack Obama becomes president, he will almost certainly move
quickly toward some form of government-provided — and possibly government-mandated —
health insurance. A principal reason for this is the oft-cited figure of 46 million uninsured
Americans. But what does this number mean? And do we really need to remake our entire health-care
system to protect the uninsured? Most people have an incomplete understanding of the uninsured
population, which can lead to bad policy choices.
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