THEN WHY MANDATE IT? I suggest he did it to attract funds, or some other means of support from Merck.
HE MANDATED IT BECAUSE THE FEDS HANDED DOWN REGULATIONS THAT SAID PROVIDE IT FOR SCHIP AND MEDICAID CHILDREN! IN ORDER FOR MEDICAID AND SCHIP TO PAY FOR IT IT HAS TO BE ON THE STATE’S MANDATED LIST.
AGAIN, THE MAN MANY PARENTS WANTED IT. THEY’RE NOT STUPID, THEY KNOW WHAT SOME JOCK MIGHT BRING TO THE THEIR DAUGHTER!
THE MANY MANY PARENTS DIDN’T!
HE GAVE THEM ALL THE OPT OUT OR THE OPT IN IF YOU WANT TO PISS AROUND WITH FREAKING SEMANTICS!
Merck contributed a grand total of $6,000 to Perry’s reelection campaign. While it is unseemly in its timing, $6,000 is barely enough money to get noticed, much less to buy the support of a governor, least of all a “high roller” like Perry’s critics claim he is. That Merck contribution amounted to .00025 of the $24 million dollar campaign funds that he received that year.
There are still some who are convinced that Merck contributed more than a paltry $6,000 to Perry. They are simply wrong. Merck gave two checks, one for $1,000 and another for $5,000 to Perry in the 2006 election timeframe (in 2008, they contributed a whopping $2,500). Here is a source to view all of Perry’s contributions: ProPublica. In fact, Merck has only contributed $23,500 to Perry over a 1998-2010 span, not exactly George Soros money. For comparison, from 2000-2006 Merck gave $2,460,000 to state politicians across 40 states.
Amen, Paperdoll! It's just one example of crony capitalism. Political favors for sale.