Why I'm Suing the Bush Administration
Somebody had to do it.
After months of negotiation and countless attempts at compromise, the Bush administration is still refusing to let New York and other states across the country expand their State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). The president is refusing to back down from destructive new rules his Administration has imposed -- the sole purpose of which are to curb bi-partisan state efforts to insure more of our nation's children.
The reason? As the president himself put it: "I mean, people have access to health care in America. They can just go to the emergency room."
It is this politics of "not my problem" that has led to the health crisis we have today.
The bureaucratic barriers to coverage the Bush administration has imposed are not only fundamentally misguided, but also illegal...
...They conflict with the statute authorizing SCHIP. Moreover, they were issued without the opportunity for public comment, as required by federal law. Accordingly, I have joined Democratic and Republican governors from states across the country to bring a lawsuit challenging these new rules in court.
It didn't have to come to this. There is widespread bipartisan support for expanding SCHIP. Even many members of the president's own party have recognized how out-of-touch he is with the American people, and instead have chosen to support compromise legislation in Congress repealing these arbitrary rules.
Unfortunately, President Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto this bipartisan bill. In justifying his position, his administration has tapped into the politics of fear -- branding the effort as "socialism."
Of course, SCHIP has nothing to do with socialism. The government would be the payer, not the provider of care, and families would have a range of private plans from which to choose. But instead of engaging on the merits, the right wing has pulled out socialism from their parade of horribles in order to frighten the public.
The president has also said that those children who already have insurance will choose to give up their coverage in order to join the program.
If you talk to doctors, health care professionals, and state leaders across the country like I have, they know the President is flat-out wrong.
These are the facts.
In New York, we want to expand coverage to every uninsured child in our state. And even though experience at the state level has shown that few children drop their existing coverage in favor of SCHIP, we have instituted some of the most stringent protections in the country in order to both prevent any potential problem and satisfy the White House.
The Bush administration, however, refuses to compromise and work with us to cover these children.
Ultimately, the president just doesn't get it. There is a health care crisis in this country, but he continues to ignore the problem while vulnerable children without insurance "just go to the emergency room."
We all know the statistics. There are 400,000 uninsured children in New York. There are 8 million uninsured children in the United States.
These staggering figures are intolerable. On both a moral and practical level, we cannot allow this to stand. The president, however, continues to say the status quo is acceptable.
Children should not have to wait until they get sick enough to go the emergency room to receive treatment. Rather, they need preventive and primary care. Ensuring that children with health problems are diagnosed and treated in a timely manner will save money and save lives.
It is imperative that we all come together to reverse the Bush administration's attempt to override the will of Congress, the will of the states, and the needs of our children.
We will continue to defend our nation's kids - even if the President will not.
This morning I gave a speech to Fordham University students. SCHIP was among the topics. A video is available here.
Cross posted at Daily Kos.
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Democrats are attempting to use SCHIP to segue into universal healthcare coverage. Groups like MoveOn are putting out arguments that Republicans want to yank healthcare from children. But let's put the facts to the test.
SCHIP has been around for awhile and it's up for expiration here pretty soon. Instead of just keeping the current program ?which does help low income children.D
A recent report, written by Nina Owcharenko and Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D., from The Heritage Foundation analyzed the negative aspects of the proposal. SCHIP was designed to insure kids whose families were at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.With the proposed expansion, this could cover those making up to $62,000/year and includes children up to the age of 21.
The second negative found is the crowd out effect, meaning that when government programs expand, private coverage always decreases as
well. People jump on the nanny state bandwagon because it's appealing at first.
Lastly, because the expansion funding depends on a tobacco tax hike, it's not likely to garner all it needs. A significant tax raise (61 cents) will only decrease the amount of tobacco sold and the excess necessary to cover SCHIP will be paid for extra taxes.
There is not faultless healthcare system but moving towards government coverage is a bad idea. Though Michael Moore's Sicko was aimed at promoting the universal system as positive, it did little but expose the inadequacies in the systems featured in the film, like Cuba and Canada. There are always enticing qualities to government run programs but they are like gross tasting frosting on a really bad cake that someone else made. And you don't see how bad it is until after youv'e already eaten it. Well, - don't eat that cake!
It's a shame when you die hard conservatives use misleading data to support your beliefs. Citing the Heritage Foundation as factual source of information is moronic at best - they are nothing but a mouthpiece for the neo-cons and socially bankrupt conservatives. They are the same "think tank" that has said oil revenues would pay for the Iraq war, raising the minimum wage would kill our economy, and many other conservative talking points.
You, like many of your conservati
The bottom line is this: if private insurance companies were willing to provide decent, affordable coverage then people wouldn't be tempted to switch to the government plan. So what if it covers the children of people who make $62,000 a year? I make over that and have a very hard time paying for health insurance for my wife and myself. I would jump at any plan the government offered to help me pay for my coverage.
Get your facts from an unbiased, reliable source so you can formulate an intelligent opinion, instead of the party line views you currently have.
At least I clearly cite the source of my info, Heritage Foundation, although conservative yes however NOT right fringe as you have tried to suggest. YOU and many of your comrades have NO problem spewing info from MEDIA BLATHERS and THUNKPROGRESS. Unintelligient?! GMAB have you read most of the garbage the 'liberal' minded folks post here? The program DOES NOT need to be EXPANDED. That is the point I have CLEARLY stated!
But like so many of the leftists in this country today, EXPAND THE GOVERNMENT. You people bitch about about so much however you still want to BROADEN the reach of the FED! HUH?! And I am to suppose you are inteligient?
LET thet STATES DECIDE!!
I'm with you. And if we can pass legislation to require all the pro-war conservatives to pay for the war out of THEIR pockets, then the rest of the common sense citizens can use OUR tax dollars for health care instead of a disastrous war started by the morons in the whitehouse for our "security"
Government programs such as Social Security? The federal highway system? The G.I. Bill? The Armed Forces? Medicare? Until the right wing took control and deliberately ran government into the ground, our government-run systems were the envy of the world, and the means by which those many not born into privilege, such as little bush, were given the opportunity to improve their own lives and the country's well-being. The USA is living off the "capital" of hard work, selflessness, and innovation that emerged with help from government programs. The rich right- wing and their stooges have just about wasted all of that. The pitiless greed- driven world they've given us is just the type of place where a humane bill such as this would be vetoed by a tiny creature like bush. Winds of change are blowing. Every repugnant republican who votes to support the moron will go down to defeat.
LET THE STATES DECIDE!!!!
Some cake is better than no cake.
The Heritage Foundation is as ethical and reliable as Faux News. Sorry you were taken in by them. Medicare which you call an entitlement program is one of the most efficient of government programs with an administrative cost under 4%. Most private insurers costs are close to or over 15%. I do not see any one rushing to shut down the coverage enjoyed by government workers. If you really feel the way you do, you should be working feverishly to end that entitlement. Universal health care is a foregone conclusion if the right ox is being gored.
Medicare efficient? What planet do you live on? It is the most fraud-ridden program that ever existed and Spitzer should know because New York is one of the biggest offenders. Where do you get your info from? I'll bet it's Hillarys front hit and smear group Media Matterless. She owns it and has asmitted to it. Get a clue!
USAisOK
Only a Republican water carrier would cite anything from the Heritage Foundation. The politicians who sold out the country to the special interest groups aren't the only ones who don't want universal health coverage. The insurance industry wanks are so afraid of being compelled to pay for the coverage they promise they are soiling themselves.
To follow USAisOK's food metaphor to its logical conclusion, don't drink the Kool-Aid he's whipping up in the back room.
Gramma Rose
The problem, Gov. Spitzer, is that George W. Bush is not in the health-care business; he's in the oil business and the war business.
These politicians are, first and foremost, BUSINESSMEN. They're profiteers. If you are putting the priorities of people above the priorities of a businessman who'll make more money by killing people than by healing them . . . .
Sad, isn't it?
new york state already wastes time and money hows this whats blue and yellow and sleeps six A STATE TRUCK go after our state for broken promises, highest taxes in the country, never on time budget, bad schools,raising thruway tolls again. clean up our backyard first..
wrabbit,
I'd comment, but I can't understand a word you banged out. Have you ever heard of punctuation, or are you a product of the No Child Left Behind experiment? You make no sense at all, what a surprise!
Gramma Rose
Bush represents those who vote for all their pet-projects and salary increases for themselves but when it comes to voting for benefits for seniors--children or workers --thats when they ALL become very conservative in order to balance the budget.
I can't understand why people don't attack the doctors and medical center administrators.
There's the problem, greed.
I went to a hospital one day last month with some arrhythmia problems. They put me on an e.k.g., gave me an x-ray and I was out in 45 minutes.
The bill, including the doctor, was 1785 dollars for a forty five minute visit. And with no health insurance, it comes out of pocket. Why are they so expensive? Sorry but I just can't see how they can justify the expense of what little they do.
And the prognosis, "Go see your regular doctor and he will recommend a cardiologist for you."
That's what I got for my 1785, whooptee damn doo doc.
Most of that money does not go to the doctors. It goes to the corporation that owns the hospital.
God Bless this real man, Elliot Spitzer.
I pray the other states will follow suite.
Any senator,co
Clearly, must be retired from Public Office.
The president is a national disgrace.
Bush and his republican enablers are evil incarnate. I know he stole the first election in 2000 with the help of SCOUS and once in power Rove and his minions stole his second election in 2004 by caging and other illegal activities to insure that people who would vote for the Democratic Party were disenfranchised. I am disgusted by the ignorance of the American public. Maybe in defense of their ignorance, the fact that day to day they are struggling for survival, with their jobs constantly in jeopardy, not health insurance etc, but for some reason they still support this maniac. Pathetic.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Governor Spitzer. You are, once again, doing what we elected you to do. Represent all Americans, not GW Bush's wealthiest 1/10th of 1% and other chronies. I applaud your efforts and wish you greatest success.
Ditto blankmw
Spitzer is correct in his thinking. With more and more children becoming diabetic, and having high blood pressure and diseases that once were "old people's diseases", to wait until a child is so bad that they are in the ER - is just insane!
As for just moving to an area that is not so high -casa5400- where will they move? Who will pay for the move? Everytime a child goes to the ER -YOU PAY. When a child dies because they didn't get treatment - you have paid big time because they now have high hospital bills and the district you live in charges YOU! The parents of that child can not pay - If they could have paid, they would have gotten preventative care and the chid would still be alive. The choice then becomes do you want to pay for a small amount or a catastrophic amount?
There are people in the middle class who are struggling and they have no money for health insurance. So, that is the last thing they spend their money on. Food, shelter and clothing come b4 insurance.
I am sorry, but I think Gov. Spitzer is correct and you are wrong. It is about kids - not money.
And paying for this with a new tax on tobacco? How pathetic. You might as well tax junk cars, or some other esoteric source of declining income, you know, like the three-martini lunch?
Actually taxing tobacco is double good, because reduced smoking improves health - lung cancer and atherosclerosis are VERY expensive to treat and indeed Medicare picks up most of that bill.
Exactly why is taxing tobacco "pathetic"? Pathetic is someone who is still sucking on those cancer sticks.
You forget that he is a child of privilege. He has his health plan gratis family and government
The Bush administration obviously is operating in a parallel universe that is dangerously at odds with the basic precepts of representative democracy and government by and for the people.
Precisely put. Very succinct and correct.
Thank you, governor, for the bravery so desperately needed at this time in this country. Fight him all the way. The people are behind you 110%. You should get as many governors as you can to fight this sick man in every possible way. I teach in New York State, and there are recruiters every day in the schools. You and the governors should get together and fight that in any way you can.
Bush is just once again proving what kind of man he is. Of course he does not care about children in this country or any other, unless its about the top 5% richest or he can see a way to bleed it for money in his pocket or his friends. I really do not believe there has been a more evil man in the white house.
Another way to pay for a health plan, shut down these laws that allow people to set up phony companies in off shore islands, to get around paying taxes.
Tiger Woods bought a $20.000,00
How many other millionaires do this to avoid paying taxes?
What amount of sales taxes did you pay on your car?
You go Eliot! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is good,...su
Any president can veto for ANY reason.
He and the Republican Party have for the last six and one half years have shown us what they are. If we don't impeach this administration, then at least we should never vote for any Republican again.
They have never done anything to support the poor or the middle, yet they get elected from this group of stupid voters.
AMEN
I find it ironic that the president and all his pals get (extensive and expensive) annual checkups at public expense. The theory, of course is that early detection of physical problems is both protective of the individual and less costly to address than the same problem given time to become serious. Why do youo suppose these same individuals find the grave danger of SOCIALISM when the same is proposed for the nation's children? Who are these self-important ghouls? Vote Democratic.
It's all part of the "Free Market Capitalism" that Bush, Cheney et al would force down our throats. They are determined to re-invent the U.S. as a 100% pure Capitalist society where Free Enterprise would replace the four freedoms and every thing would be privatized including all health care as well as the Army, Social Security, Education and all other functions now being provided by the government
If it was a free market, that would be great. But their version of free, costs U.S. taxpayers billions in tax credits, tax breaks, and special interests.
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