Bush: "I’ll veto the bill.”: State Child Health Insurance Program has reduced the number of [poor, uninsured] children by about a quarter

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 by CommonDreams.org | A Heartless “Philosophy” | by Robert Weissman
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A case can be made that the administration’s effort to block expansion of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) should top the list.

SCHIP is a complement to Medicaid, and provides health insurance to uninsured children from low-income families, typically those making up to 200 percent of the poverty line ($34,000). It has had enormous success in its 10 years of existence. Four million children receive health insurance through SCHIP. It has reduced the number of children in families at or slightly above the poverty line who are uninsured by about a quarter.
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But President Bush says no.

He has a “philosophical” objection to expanding SCHIP.

“I believe government cannot provide affordable health care,” Bush said at a media event last week. “I believe it would cause the quality of care to diminish. I believe there would be lines and rationing over time. If Congress continues to insist upon expanding health care through the SCHIP program — which, by the way, would entail a huge tax increase for the American people — I’ll veto the bill.”
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As against expanding SCHIP, the administration proposes a preposterous tax credit to help pay for individual insurance coverage. Because individual insurance coverage is both the least efficient component of the health insurance market and the one most rife with abuse, it is a certainty that the administration plan would be a failure.