That’s all fine and dandy, but how many 6-figure income families want it? And if it’s socialized health care why is there an income ceiling at all?
There are low-cost bare-bones health insurance policies out there being offered that SCHIP would put out of business through competition — the federal government using tax dollars to compete with private insurance companies.
The net effect would be to put the lower end policies out of business. Keep in mind that most health insurance is provided through employers today. Why should a business whose employees make, say, $40 - 50K offer health insurance as a benefit when those employees can get free health care from the government?
Large corporations such as the auto industry say that our lack of nationalized health care puts them at a competitive disadvantage, since their international competitors in Germany, Italy, Japan, etc. don’t have to provide health insurance to their workers. They would love nationalized health care.
As to your last question, the plan is probably eventually to eliminate income ceilings and turn this into a single-payer system run by the feds. They’re doing what they think they can get by with.
Thank God for Bush’s veto pen — may he have the courage to use it.