Articles
New York Times: Misleading Spin on Children’s Health
10/05/2007
Trying to justify his ideologically driven veto of a bill to
expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, President Bush and his
staff have fired a barrage of misinformation about this valuable program.
Before the House votes on whether to override the veto, all members —
especially those from Mr. Bush’s party who say they are concerned about
millions of uninsured children — must look behind the rhetoric.
Mr. Bush stretched the truth considerably when he told an
audience in
Mr. Bush’s primary rationales for his veto tend to
disintegrate when examined closely. He contends that he wants to refocus the
program on the poor — those who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not
enough to afford private insurance. Yet the compromise bill approved by both
houses would primarily benefit poorer children. It includes various prods and
incentives to get states to enroll many more children who are below 200 percent
of the poverty level, and projections suggest that a huge majority of children
who would be enrolled in the expansion would come from this low-income group.
Perhaps the most eye-catching argument from the president is
that the vetoed bill would have allowed S-chip to cover children in families
earning $83,000 a year. That claim hangs on the extremely flimsy thread that
New York — where insurance and living costs are higher than in many other parts
of the country — has proposed extending the eligibility level to 400 percent of
poverty, or $82,600 for a family of four. As far as most states are concerned,
the bill would discourage covering such children, by allowing the enhanced
S-chip match only up to 300 percent of the poverty level.
What’s driving much of the Republican response to the bill
is the White House’s contention that expanding S-chip is “an incremental step
toward the Democrats’ goal of a government-run health system.” The only word
that conforms to reality here is “incremental.” S-chip is a tiny blip in the
federal budget compared with Medicare and Medicaid, the giant
government-financed health systems. House members need to think hard whether it
is worth denying coverage to millions of uninsured children just to keep the
blip a little smaller.
The bill primarily reflects a Senate version that was
drafted with great care by key members of both parties. It embodies principles
that would normally appeal to many conservatives. S-chip is not an entitlement
program like Medicare or Medicaid. Instead, it provides block grants to the
states, which can curtail enrollment if funds run out. Nor is S-chip permanent.
It will need to be reauthorized again in five years, at which time some future
Congress and president will be free to have another slugfest. The White House
declined overtures to join in consultations while the bill was being framed,
according to Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican sponsor. Like so many other
things that Mr. Bush has gotten disastrously wrong, he’d already made up his
mind and had no interest in listening to others’ arguments.
Now it is up to Congress to show Mr. Bush that such blind
partisanship will not be rewarded. For the sake of