Bush's Poison Pill for America's Kids

Sometimes in politics, you think you've seen it all. Turns out I was wrong.

Just when you thought things at the White House couldn't get any stranger, the president has decided it is good public policy to increase the number of uninsured children in our country.

In the last year, we've seen public opinion building around the principle that no American should be denied health care. The president has answered that call by attempting to limit eligibility for the State Children's Health Insurance Program. SCHIP is a program that provides health care to children whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private health insurance.

The president is trying to tell governors like me across the country that until we enroll 95 percent of those eligible for S-CHIP in households making under 200 percent of the poverty line ($41,300 for a family of four), we cannot provide health care to children in families making above 250 percent of the poverty line ($51,625 for a family of four).

Make no mistake. This is a poison pill meant to deny thousands of children health insurance.

While state governments make every effort to enroll as many eligible kids as possible, there will always be some individuals who fail to take advantage of this important program. In New York, we currently enroll 88 percent of children in families making below 200 percent of the poverty level. No state has yet cleared the 95 percent hurdle.

Since many states already enroll children at income thresholds above 250 percent of the poverty level, this means that these new regulations will have the effect of forcing children who already have coverage out of the program. Moreover, New York's historic effort to provide universal coverage for children through SCHIP will not be able to get off the ground because of this bureaucratic sleight of hand.

The president surely knows this. But then that begs the question: Why would he choose to pursue this path?

This isn't about fiscal restraint. The initiative is paid for through a tax on unhealthy cigarettes and other revenue sources. This isn't about good public policy. SCHIP has been wildly successful in providing health care for nearly seven million of our nation's vulnerable children.

The actions of the White House speak to what we've all known for far too long. When faced with the choice of covering thousands of children, they'll bring up the "big government" bogeyman and then stick their heads in the sand, ignoring the realities facing working families across the country.

This is not the way it has to be. Health care for our children should not be a partisan issue.

I have joined governors of both parties from across the country in trying to expand SCHIP coverage. My initiative to expand SCHIP and provide universal coverage to New York's children was passed by a large bi-partisan majority in our state legislature. I have even committed to taking legal action if CMS refuses to do what is right, follow the law, and insure these kids.

While we promise to keep doing our best to hold the President accountable, we cannot do it alone. We need your help

There are 400,000 uninsured children in New York and 9 million around the country who are counting on you to be their voice. Call your congressman and tell him or her to overturn the president's decision. Write the White House and tell them what you think.

I just wrote a column in the New York Daily News about this issue, which you can find here. Writing a letter to the editor of your local paper is a great way to make your opinion heard.

Standing by and letting this injustice go unanswered is simply not an option. The stakes are too high. You must do your part.

If we fail to act, 400,000 children in New York - and millions more across America - will continue to rely on the oldest and most precarious health insurance policy of all: waking up every morning and praying that they don't get sick.

Click here to watch a video of Governor Spitzer and Congressman Rangel and discussing this issue. Governor Spitzer and Governor Schwarzenegger also recently wrote a letter to the President demanding that these new rules be be withdrawn (more).

Comments

[rjcrane42]

If BushCo could figure out a way for big business to profit from insuring more children all children would have coverage. But if business will be picking up the tab or part of the tab through tax hikes on their products, forget it!

All you need to do is take a look at how the Bush family has always made their money by using taxpayer money for private gain. Why does anyone expect it to be different now? Bush and the GOP aren't about running government except when it comes to distributing tax breaks and doling out monies to various "insider" companies and companies that support the GOP. They only way Bush and the GOP will do anything to ensure better health care for more Americans is if they can determine a way to make it profitable for someone that benefits them.

RJ Crane, editor
topplebush.com

[Sted]

Bravo Governor, bravo!!!

Bush is simply being true to his upbringing, his political base and his income class. He is, simply put, one of many governmental officials from privileged, private boarding school backgrounds who are of the grossly rich, arrogant and completely out of touch with the American People.
In order for our country and people to survive, let alone thrive, in the modern world we must think along the lines of that Helen Reddy song, "You and Me against the world." You and me being the American People-TEAM AMERICA if you will. That is how we must think of ourselves as a TEAM! A team is only as good as it's least healthy, prepared and talented player.
The Bushkies are just like an athletic owner/coach who cozens one star, in this case the super rich, while ignoring and belittling the rest of his players. As HIS team loses game after game such a coach does not see his losing reord nor care. As long as his superstar/hero sets individual records what does he care about his peon players. Have an injury? If it is below the neck, "ice it." Above the neck, "take a couple of aspirin."
But let the superstar contract a hangnail and it is, "well fly him to the Mayo Clinic."
As long as the owner can define his life and bolster his self-esteem and ego by associating with a superstar, a la Joe Namath, Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, Mickey Mantle et al. why should he care about the other mundane player.
Bush and Rove with their traitorous electoral strategy of "divide and get elected" have done tremendous harm to our country and it's people. Their strategy has resulted in "divide and decline."
Their attempt to deprive America's children of adequate is symptompatic that their compassionate conservatism is neither conservative nor compassionate. It is selfishly, greedy reactionaryism.

[Mark701]

Good article but I think you overlooked two other reasons that the Bushies don't want to fund the SCHIP program.
The first is that it's not a privatized program as far as I can see. And we all know how the Bushies LOVE to privatize everything. The second thing is it takes money away from his Iraq. Realistically speaking the only think Bush wants the government to pay for is "defense" and his war. Everyone else can go to hell.

[bassface49]

When the mentality that allows CEO's to make 400 times what the worker who PROVIDES that income makes and even more if he can find a way to either downsize or outsource (with a big taxcut) that job is running our gov't. We are NOT the Country our Founders intended.
It is time for this gov't to start looking out for the American worker and her Middle Class.
Repubs have pretty much had their way for the twenty years and look at us!
WE THE PEOPLE built this Country and its time for us to take it back and make sure that we are the world leaders again, Instead of world haters. The neocons have kept this Country 'afraid' for 40 years and we have allowed it to happen.
Want to see where all the money has gone? Watch the movie 'Why We Fight'!
Get these damned politican's out of our bedrooms and out of our churches and back to the job of making sure that WE THE PEOPLE are the focus.
Corporations are writting legislation, they don't even hide it anymore!
Sinclair Lewis said Facism would come to America wrapped in the flag and carrying a bible, well, its here and its up to WE THE PEOPLE to throw the bums out!
They are even profitting off the blood of our soldiers but here we are talking about the health of children and profit still takes precedent with some of you. Wow, disgusting.
There are tears running down the Faces of Mt Rushmore, we should be ashamed.

[negogato]

Personal health crisis is the leading cause of bankruptcy, home foreclosure.
Get sick, loose your home.

How Christian.

Exactly how much in insurance company campaign contributions does Bush think he will lose if he supports insuring those children?

How Christian of him.

Party boy.

[rgblue]

Health care is ABSOLUTELY a civil right. This isn’t the 19th century....
Any civilized nation with a shred of morality would take care of their own well and fully.
Mormondudes comment (first one) is inane. Apparently the US is now so incompetent according to you that it can’t and shouldn’t even do what nearly every other industrialized nation has already done. It’s common sense 101, for chrissakes!

Tell you what: let the government take MY tax dollars and put them toward free health care, free education and free assistance to all returning veterans. Let the government take YOUR money and give it to the huge private insurance companies, pharmaceuticals and the sinkhole that is Iraq.

[Levittown]

I would like to poll the Supreme Court on the value of their decision that George Bush has added to the domestic and international standing of America. They will be mute, at least four of the five that were on the bench in 2000.

[mmpmmp]

US healthcare issues aside, we should not be surprised that Bush is cutting SCHIP benefits. Before he announced his candidacy for president, he worked hard as governor of Texas to set eligibility to 150% of the poverty level instead of 200%. For a full discussion of this, see Bob Somerby's recent post: http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh071907.shtml. Bush didn't want to insure kids then, and true to form, he does not want to insure them now either. It's too bad that the media ran with the "compassionate conservative" theme rather than checking on whether it made any sense.

[javagirl322]

This is so sad...and the people who have been elected and sent to Washington, sit on their ample asses and do absolutely nothing.

Thank you, Govenor Spitzer.

[Steve7]

The problems with the healthcare system cannont be solved if we continue to take positions based on political philoshophy. No good solutions will occur. Perhaps we all need to break out of our points of view (i.e. universal vs. capitalism) and look at things differently. There is a good idea on www.healthcaresoundoff.com called the Healthcare Access Card. It is a compromise between univeral and capitalism but gets access to good healthcare for everyone and does not step on the toes of any vested interests.

[Toole]

A nation is the sum total of its people and its administrations (government, business etc.). Should any of these be deficient it will reflect on the country as a whole.
When there is money to waste in destroying other nations and try to rob them of their resources for the sake of a few fat cats while the underpriveleged in the home country are neglected there is something fundamentally wrong.
The irony of it all is that nobody will benefit in the end.

[LostHearts]

The number of comments here indicates that this is an issue of primary importance to a broad range of people. And it should be.

I'm not a huge fan of Michael Moore, but in his film "Sicko" it was mind-blowing to see what an advanced industrialized country like France provides by way of healthcare. It puts the US to shame on this issue, which isn't hard to do anyway.

There have been times in my life when I had no health insurance coverage whatsoever. I lived in fear; I didn't partake in sports that I loved; in fact, I was a virtual prisoner. The threat of getting injured and incurring huge medical expenses made my life a living hell. And then of course there are the illnesses that can just appear out of nowhere--a­ppendiciti­s, for instance.

In a country as rich as we are, and that provides free heatlhcare to those you can really afford it (meaning, of course, our politicians), this is an absolute disgrace. It is said you can tell the moral fiber of a nation by observing how it treats its elderly and sick, and by those standards, the US fails miserably.

[BillWilliam]

It looks like most of the comments are for universal health care. You can add me to that list. After working from age 16 to 57 I woke up one morning and could not stand up. I had a disease I had never heard of that destroyed my balance. No more work on offshore oil rigs or anywhere else, forever. That is not the bad part. The expenses for this are low. now our insurance has multiplied to $700 a month. In '03 I was diagnosed with incurable cancer. With out insurance I would be dead now. Dr.'s and hospitals want money for services or you can die for all they care. As much as I hate the thought of government run health care it looks like the only way to go. I hope it is better than the veterans health care system. If we do this we should also pay for medical school. A young Dr. with $250,000 in student loans can not offer services at a fair price.

[MarshallAdame]

You guy have an interesting conversation going on.
THis same conversation is going on all over America and that is a very good thing. Ultimately, because compromise is the only tool which will allow any form of Universal Healthcare to be established, we need to keep the dialog going.
On one side the neocons will never agree to providing lower economic class citizens with anything what so ever and the ver extreme leftys will never give an inch and will fight for total, universal, free, first class medical care. Some where in the middle are the greater population who will reason and actually make universal health care happen.
The Constitution of the United States is a very inconvienient document to the Neocons. It prevents them from making business a little bigger while allowing the government (Us) to insure their success. Over the past several years they have pretty much had everything their way and now that the apparent turn-around is coming in American ploitics, they seemto be groping for any rope. Attacking, denagrating, wrapping themselves in the flag and stonewalling are the only tools they deem effective to their losing cause and is now becoming apparent to the American Public.
The war in Iraq has been, and continues to be, a gold mine for the Defense Industry. Seeing that come to an end is painful for Many large Corporations. The excessive expence of that war is no problem with them. They are more than happy to see the taxpayer $ go there because they are the primary benefecaries.
America is finally wising up. Universal Health Care is a forgone conclusion from my point of view. How is will be accomplished will be interesting to see, but it wil happen. A great compromise of inclusion will be drafted and we will all benefit from it.
Keep up the dialog folks.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

Marshall...

On one side the neocons will never agree to providing lower economic class citizens with anything what so ever and the ver extreme leftys will never give an inch and will fight for total, universal, free, first class medical care.

So from your statement.... you're looking for SECOND CLASS, NOT TOTAL BUT FOR SOME PROFIT medical care?

Why would ANYONE agree to second class care. Complete FIRST CLASS universal healthcare for all americans.

Those that are against it and want their own insurance... can pay for it themselves.

[mamacat]

For trying to save the lives of children, God bless you Gov. Spitzer.

Neo-con callousness and hypocrisy seem to know no bounds, and Pres. Bush's actions on this matter are just one more example of his many moral abuses while in office.

Traditional Republican beliefs do not stand in the way of improving health care in America. California Gov. Earl Warren (Republican) tried unsuccessfully to bring universal health care to his state in the 40s and 50s. When he became a Supreme Court Justice, he was considered progressive. He worked very effectively for equal rights for people of color, and was so highly respected by leaders of both parties that he was asked by Pres. Johnson (Democrat) to oversee the commission investigating Democratic Pres. Kennedy's murder.

It used to be a given that whether one was honorable or not was not determined by one's political affiliation. But today, neo-cons have sullied American politics to the point that our first reaction when a Republican politician issues a press statement is to wonder if there is any truth in what he or she is saying. It was not always that way.

The true legacy of Bush, Rove, and Co. my be the death of the Republican Party, and that, as much as their incompetence while in power, will make America a weaker country. Years ago I voted for many Republicans. Today, I cannot bring myself to vote for any of them.