A Crafty Health Care Move

contentions ^ | 7.24.2007 | Yuval Levin

[Contentions]

Earlier this summer, when Senate Democrats (with significant support from some Republicans) offered a bill that would expand federal subsidies for children’s health insurance , conservatives accused them of trying to bring government-funded health care in through the back door. Now, as if to prove the point, House Democrats this week are preparing to introduce a much more ambitious plan to fortify and expand the government’s role in health care.

The New York Times reported that the plan, slated to be made public in the coming days, would not only vastly expand the scope of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), it would also reduce the incentive for private health plans to participate in the Medicare program, and eliminate the requirement in current law to limit Medicare’s reliance on general revenue for its funding.

Two points about why this bill is a smart play by the Democrats. First of all, it’s intended to make the Senate plan (which would increase SCHIP funding by more than $35 billion) appear to be the most moderate of three alternatives, mediating between the White House’s proposal of a $5 billion increase and the House’s $50 billion.

[Gorzaloon]

All bills that act against the Public Interest, which upon careful reading, provide friends and relatives of the Lawmakers with windfalls, are named the "Help Blind Crippled Children Act".

It probably has nothing to do with healthcare at all. /s

[Mr. K]

Time to man the phones again and defeat this P.O.S. just like we did the shamnesty bill

guaranteed health care ‘for the children’ is back door universal govt health care, you can be sure abou tthat.