Bush and S-CHIP...

"Instead of expanding SCHIP beyond its original purpose, we should return it to its original focus, and that is helping poor children, those who are most in need.

And instead of encouraging people to drop private coverage in favor of government plans, we should work to make basic private health insurance affordable and accessible for all Americans."

This is President George Walker Bush's view on the SCHIP program and why he is refusing to allocate more money into this system. In case there are some that do not know what the CHIP system is, quite simply, it is insurance given to children of families that make too much income (which disqualifies the child for Medicaid), but cannot afford private coverage. In states like Pennsylvania, headed by Governor Ed Rendell, his particular implementation of CHIP does not disqualify any child, regardless of the family's income. In fact, it was he who provided the response to Bush's comment on the behalf of the Democrats.

What is most irritating and short-sighted of Bush's goal concerning SCHIP is that the original intention of the program was not just for "poor" children; rather, it is for children, period. What is demonstrated here is Bush's fingers clasping at the naive idea that some variant of socialized healthcare is evil. Has he no interest in the prosperity of the newer generations? As good as parents can be, not all can afford to pay for insurance, especially if the child was born with some morbidity. In that particular case, either the insurance companies would reject an application for the child to be covered, or raise the premium to a prohibitively costly point. Children are not exempted from these actions, nor are adults. Undeniably, this is why so many individuals in America are without insurance. Hell, for all I know, in the future I may not be able to secure coverage through my wife due to my pre-existing condition of Ulcerative Colitis. The point is, the children, regardless of monies had by the family, or conditions, should be able to blossom with no fear of their health failing them - or being able to be treated.

"My administration will continue working with Congress to pass a responsible SCHIP bill. In the meantime, Congress has an obligation to make sure health insurance for poor children does not lapse. If they fail to do so, more than a million children could lose health coverage. Health coverage for these children should not be held hostage while political ads are being made and new polls are being taken."

Coverage for children should be the mission of the government, plain and simple. By Bush's very own words, he has mutated it into a political competition between him and the Congress. When (or if) SCHIP expires, it will not be the fault of the Congress, but rather Bush, because he specifically vetoed a re-extension of SCHIP. The blood will be on his hands.

Source for Bush's speech:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_TEXT?SITE=NCJAC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-09-20-14-24-39