No... Some... Most Children Left Behind

Posted by ueberbill (38617 views) Add this story to MyYahoo Add this article to del.icio.us Submit article to Reddit Add story to Furl Add story to StumbleUpon [E-Mail link]


The Bush Administration, like many conservative groups, cares a lot about young lives. From zygotes to embryos to nine-month-old fetuses, Bush 'n' friends care a great deal about the well-being of an almost-child. After you're born, though, you'd better hope you weren't born poor.

There have been some compassionate new administrative hurdles put in place to stop some parents from applying for the government-subsidized State Children's Health Insurance Program. Allegedly, these hurdles are designed to stop parents with private insurance from putting their tax dollars to work for their kids, but children's advocates say the announcement will leave children uninsured if their parents don't have jobs with employer-paid insurance.

The new policy says that if a family that makes more than 250% of the poverty level ($51,625 for a family of four [!]) wants to apply, the state must first ensure that the child is uninsured for a year (repeat that in your head: the state MUST ENSURE THAT THE CHILD IS UNINSURED FOR A YEAR!) and demonstrate that 95% of children from families making less than 200% of the poverty level are insured either through State Children's or Medicaid. No state in the Union has been able to achieve that sign-up level.

This move was announced after the Congress, which has fought with the White House for months over the $5 billion dollar program, left for vacation. Both the Senate and the House have passed legislation that would increase funding dramatically and make it possible for many more children to be enrolled, but President Bush wants to leave the program as-is and has promised to veto the bill.

Bush has twice vetoed stem cell research laws in defense of those precious little embryos--his fourth veto would ensure that some embryos that made it won't have any health insurance.



 

Devil's in the details
Posted by wizeGurl on 2007-08-21 12:06:59
Take a careful look at this detail: "demonstrate that 95% of children from families making less than 200% of the poverty level are insured either through State Children's or Medicaid."

I wonder...if 95% of a state's poorest children (even just the ones not eligible for Medicaid) were insured under the State Childrens's Health Insurance Program, would there be any funding left to insure uninsured working families? Since Bush promises to veto the funding increase, I have to think not.
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-21 23:04:59
"No state in the Union has been able to achieve that sign-up level."

If States aren't getting the poorest people to sign up, why are Democrats trying to get people over 200% above the poverty level into welfare programs? The Bush administration is trying to focus welfare on the poor, and the Democrats are trying to grant welfare (the proceeds of which are either taken from here or borrowed from overseas) to everyone. Is the Democratic platform anything besides seizing and redistributing wealth according to their vision?

Why can't a family of 4 making over $50,000 buy their own insurance? Would it mean making tough decisions about keeping Showtime or HBO?

"The federal government has consistently granted waivers to permit 14 states to cover adults under SCHIP, which now costs $5 billion a year. Minnesota led the way, with 92 percent of money spent under the program going to adults.

The massive expansion was proposed by Sen. Clinton this year, furthering her promise of "step by step" advancement toward universal health care. Her proposal extends SCHIP to families at 400 percent of poverty ($82,000 annually)."
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-22 07:27:44
Why can't a family of 4 making $50,000 buy their own insurance?

Let's see...in Boston, it costs around $18,000 a year to rent a 2 bedroom apartment. Utilities cost at least another $5000, for $23,000. Food for 4 comes out to around $11,000 (200 wk) unless you buy really unhealthy (kraft Mac'n'Cheese) for a total of $34,000 thus far.

That doesn't include travel expenses (gasoline or the T..let's assume $2000 a year), income tax (let's say $10,000 a year)...so we're around $48,000 of the $50,000.

I guarantee you can't get annual health insurance for 4 on $2,000-$5,000 a year. You probably can't get health insurance for 2.
Posted by a non e mousse on 2007-08-22 07:50:26
And there are plenty of OTHER administrative hurdles to ensure that those families of 4 making less than 50k annually can't sign up for SCHIP or medicaid. I think Carlin's adage about "Once you leave the womb, conservatives don't care about you until you reach military age" is spot on- and without healthcare the kids who do make it to military age'll be screwed up anyway.
what it done right
Posted by lorne on 2007-08-22 09:08:49
save the children, save the children.You would think they're all going to die because of Bush. Maybe if the parents wouldn't spend there money on Mcdonalds and juice boxes they would not be so fat. Instead maybe grow some vegies and exercise. Quit whining and begging the government to take care of your family and do whatever it takes to provide for your family you chose to have. Right to chose how cool is that.
Problems..
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-22 09:20:25
Here is the problem for the US. People only see freaking dollar signs. If we could all just help and look out for each other there would be a lot less of a problem. I think that medical insurance should be free to a child until they are 18. I know this is a far fetched idea. But that is my opinion and you don't have to like it.

Also $50k a year for a family of four has to be real hard to live on. Me and my fiance make close to $60k together and we still have a hard time making it. Also we live in PA, the freaking south of the north. All we have here is unpaid workers, cows, corn and Jesus.

Also yes conservatives only care about you until you are born and only after you are in the military.
Posted by HealthyCanuck on 2007-08-22 09:39:00
Hey, here is another radical notion... how about you join the other 98% of the world and stop charging people ridiculous amounts of money for health care. Last year on Christmas vacation I was in upstate New York visiting some friends. Without getting into too many details I ended up breaking my arm and found my self at the local FOR PROFIT HOSPITAL (how these words can even be located together in the same sentence is beyond me) where I was told that even though I was covered, since it was Traveler's insurance I would have to pay them the ***$13,563.41*** bill up front. yeah right. find me an average college student that has 13,000 and some change lying around and I'll show you a flying monkey. So I promptly got back into my car, drove 5 1/2 hours WITH A BROKEN ARM back across the border and got myself checked out in Canada. Cost to me: $60 for gas.
Fiat Monetary Policy
Posted by JL Wallace on 2007-08-22 10:30:05
You're forgetting that if our "elected" officials in government weren't hell-bent on creating (and sustaining) the American Empire, we as a nation, WOULD be able to take care of ourselves and our once-great nation. The United States spends $466 billion a year on military funding - that's far more than the rest of the world combined. Not to mention the fact the it's really the bankers, oilmen and global corporations within the Establishment that determine our geopolitical agenda - the CFR, the Trilateral Commission and currently, the Security and Prosperity Partnership that seeks to merge Canada, Mexico and the United States into the North American Union, complete with a new currency the "Amero" (see: SPP/NAU). We need to abolish the Federal Reserve, repeal the enslaving 16th Amendment and RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! First order of business: We the People need to call an Article V Convention to restore the Constitution, our civil liberties and sound currency - although Congress has so far ignored and dismissed the more than 500+ such requests for an Article V Convention. The powers within the corporatocracy don't care about the Worlds Citizenry - they care about profit margins and the redistribution of wealth from the serfs into the hands of oligarchy of the global elite. The time has come to ascend upon Washington and RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! "One if by Land and the Lantern is Lit..."
after YOUR born
Posted by Darcie on 2007-08-22 10:31:25
Seriously. You are a writer. Do you still not know the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE?
lorne, you are a stupid rich pig
Posted by anonymous on 2007-08-22 10:35:12
First of all lorne, "what it done right" is about as nonsensical, grammatically incorrect, and stupid a phrase as I've ever seen. After reading your subject line, it becomes difficult already to take anything you say seriously. You then go on to espouse that parents should not buy mcdonalds and get fat, that they should instead grow 'vegies' and excercise. Clearly you know nothing about the plight of ordinary poor people. Fast food corporations like McDonalds love to build new restauraunts in poor areas because they offer a way to get a full (and unhealthy) meal for not very much money. Fresh produce, on the other hand, can be very expensive and difficult to find in impoverished areas. Excercise is primarily a hobby of the rich who can afford to take time out of their day. Has it ever occurred to you lorne that maybe the reason that many poor people are overweight is because they don't have the money to afford healthy alternatives? No, probably not, because to you they're just fat, stupid people who had the misfortune of being born into less desirable circumstances. I hope you enjoy your throne of intolerance lorne.
Posted by ueberbill on 2007-08-22 11:01:30
The fact that any child (any person, really) in the country doesn't have health care is scary. This leads to a lack of preventative healthcare which only leads to bigger bills and worse problems in the future. Treating these kids early (which, with the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, requires health insurance) is cost-effective. Better now than when they're on medicaid and pulling in huge sums of money for things that could've been prevented. This is our tax money, you're damn right "save the children".
 

Comments

 
Name: (change name for anonymous posting)
Title:
Comments:
   

1 Article displayed.

Pursuant to Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code (47 USC § 230), BSAlert is a user-contributed editorial web site and does not endorse any specific content, but merely acts as a "sounding board" for the online community. Any and all quoted material is referenced pursuant to "Fair Use" (17 U.S.C. § 107). Like any information resource, use your own judgement and seek out the facts and research and make informed choices.

Powered by Percleus (c) 2005-2047 - Content Management System

[Percleus 0.9.5] (c) 2005, PCS