The Truth about SCHIP

Do Republicans Really want Kids to Die?

Democrats are using children to help them defeat Republicans in the next election. With Democrats, it is always about the children (except for abortion). In the case of the recently vetoed State Children’s Health Insurance Program, they know that when the children are at stake, legislators are afraid to vote against it. They have used that strategy to corner President Bush and Republican members of Congress who have voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Originally SCHIP was designed to assist lower-income families with too much income to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford health insurance for their children. But over the last few months, Democrat leadership hijacked a well-meaning program and turned it into a scaled-down version of socialized medicine. The increase they sought widened the focus from lower income families to include middle class families as well. Families 400% above the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) would now be eligible for the entitlement. Your tax dollars would be paying for healthcare for a family making over $80,000 a year.

Democrats concocted a scenario in which they win either way. If the bill passed, they would increase their control over healthcare to include the middle class. If Bush vetoed the bill, which they were counting on, they could claim that Bush and his evil Republicans hate your children. Count on this to be a major part of their campaign. “Why would you vote for senator so-and-so when he voted against your children?”

They even used smokers as leverage. The program would partly be funded by a considerable increase to the cigarette and cigar tax. How could someone be against a bill that gives the children health insurance and socks it to the smokers, right?

Not only does this program mean you have to pay more taxes, it also crowds out the private industry. Families who previously paid for private insurance would instead have to depend on the government. Well over half of the children in families over 200% of the FPL are already covered with private insurance. Why then do we need to pick up the bill? I was under the impression that personal responsibility was a good thing. Besides, who is better at providing services – private industry or government? Do we want our healthcare to run like UPS or FedEx, or do we want it to run like the post office?

SCHIP needs to be reauthorized, but not expanded. Currently, alternative plans to SCHIP expansion, such as tax credit proposals, are being introduced in Congress. Millions of families with uninsured children would be able to afford private insurance.

Republicans do not want children to die, as Democrat leadership would have you believe – they simply do not want the government to take over healthcare. Especially for families who can afford to pay for their own health insurance.

Chris Carter is the host of “Unto the Breach with Crushing Chris Carter.”
COPYRIGHT 2007 CHRIS CARTER