Thread: Obama Signs 'SCHIP' Children's Health Insurance Bill

BREAKING NEWS
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487 ... alth-care/

House Passes Children's Health Care Bill
The Democratic-controlled House passed the bill 290-135 on Wednesday, with 40 Republicans backing it. President Obama plans to sign it into law later in the day.

AP

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

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The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill extending health coverage to 4 million uninsured children, giving President Barack Obama a much-needed win on health care and taking a first step toward his promise of universal coverage.

The Democratic-controlled House passed the bill 290-135, with 40 Republicans backing it. Obama planned to sign it into law later in the day.

"You'll hear him speak about the importance of the individual act today in expanding the coverage for children," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, previewing Obama's remarks. "You'll hear the president underscore the need that we have to make health care more affordable and the need to invest in that affordability to ensure our long-term economic growth."

The bill calls for spending an additional $32.8 billion on the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Lawmakers generated that revenue by raising the federal tobacco tax.

"President Obama and Congress are demonstrating that change has come to Washington, and we are moving forward to improve the quality of life for American families struggling during these hard times," said Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Republicans criticized the cost of the legislation. They also said it will mean an estimated 2.4 million children who otherwise would have access to private insurance will join the State Children's Health Insurance Program instead.

"The Democrats continue to push their government-run health care agenda -- universal coverage as they call it," said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.

An estimated 7 million children are now enrolled in SCHIP.

To cover the increase in spending, the bill would boost the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes by 62 cents, to $1.01 a pack.

The bill's passages has long been a top priority of Democratic lawmakers. In late 2007, President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar bills. The Senate passed the same bill last week. Obama made it a top priority in his first 100 days and one step in his push for universal coverage by the end of his first term.

House passage came one day after Obama's choice for health secretary, Tom Daschle, withdrew his nomination, citing the distraction of his delinquent tax payments.

SCHIP was created more than a decade ago to help children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private coverage.

Federal money for the program was set to expire March 31, barring action by Congress.

Republicans said that they supported SCHIP and providing additional money for the program. However, they argued that Democrats were taking the program beyond its original intent and encouraging states to cover middle-class families who otherwise could get private insurance.

"This debate is about, do we want a children's health insurance program that covers every child in America with state and federal dollars regardless of their ability to pay?" said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. "Do we want to freeze out the private sector for health insurance?"

Opponents of the bill also complained that the tobacco tax increase hits the poor the hardest, because they are more likely to smoke than wealthier people. Many also took exception to expanding the program and Medicaid to children of newly arrived legal immigrants.

But supporters said that ensuring children had access to adequate health care was a matter of priorities. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said an estimated 4 million people have lost employer-sponsored insurance in the past year.

"Do they keep their families' health insurance or do they put food on the table at night? During this economic recession, these kinds of decisions are unfortunately becoming more common," Pallone said.

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health estimated that more than one-third of the children added to the program will be Hispanics who currently have no health insurance.

Health officials project that there are about 9 million uninsured children in the U.S.

Scores of interest groups threw their support behind expanding SCHIP, including those representing insurers, hospitals and doctors. The American Cancer Society predicted that the tax increase would reduce youth smoking by about 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by 4 percent.

"The expansion of the SCHIP program will provide millions of uninsured children with critical health care coverage and carry the added health benefit of encouraging millions of people to give up their deadly smoking habit," said John R. Seffrin, national chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02 ... alth-care/

This is just the beginning of the end of America as we knew it. Obama said it himself, that it was a beginning. This is so sad. Never did I think we would become a socialist country full of "slackers." I say we boycott taxes, just like the dems!

They will need 2.5 million NEW smokers in order to fund this piece of socialist entitlement. "Children" up to 26 years old will be included, which obviously is aimed at immigrant families who tend to all live together, and people can make 65-85,000, or maybe even 100,000 dollars, in some cases, and still qualify. Thousands will drop private insurance and go on the govt. dole, which is exactly what the devious democrats want to happen.

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health estimated that more than one-third of the children added to the program will be Hispanics who currently have no health insurance.

And with that, one big nail in the coffin of the 5-year rule designed to prevent immigrants from getting welfare benefits until after they have been a citizen for at least five years. Now we have reinforced and increased the motivation for someone to immigrate to the U.S. just for welfare, paid for by hard-working Americans tax dollars.

[b]Now the "children" up to the age of 30 are covered!
Illegal immigrants are covered too!

First step to socialized medicine ..... where will the Canadians, that already have Socialized Medicine, going to get their emergency operations now?
In Canada an emergency operation means you might just have to die if you can;t get to another country...
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http://www.cato.org/pubs/catosletter/ca ... erv3n1.pdf

Five Myths of Socialized Medicine
MYTH: “A RIGHT TO HEALTH CAREâ€

Czar Obamanov I has just given our LIMITED health care resources to the rest of the world encouraging more illegal immigration while the socialist hockey puck says he will make it available and affordable for Americans (must be that Marxist math taught in today's schools). Illegal aliens will be lining up for blocks including the never ending line of pregnant illegal alien leeches crossing what was the border who will not pay for their delivery and care but leave it to those "nasty gringos" to pay for it. Our insurance premiums will go through the roof, identity theft will skyrocket because illegal aliens will only be required to present a stolen social security number to receive any care followed by a total collapse of the system.

This is just the beginning of the end of America as we knew it. Obama said it himself, that it was a beginning

Yep. And the sad thing is I don't think most Americans will realize the significance of this. They are busy working, looking for work (at a job where they actually hire U.S. citizens, and where bilingual is NOT required), raising their own children instead of the gov raising them, etc.

SCHIP will be presented to the American people as a great thing by the twisted rats in DC, and echoed by their allies in the mainstream media.

I'm afraid the dismantling of America is now going to move at an accelerated rate. The anti-Americanists are going to get everything they can as fast as they can, while Obama's in office.

The best we can hope for is to stop some of the bleeding in 2010 at the mid-term elections, but thats being optimistic.

I tried to ask for a thank you to the smokers that fund this bill......you know, the very ones who are banned from businesses, can't get insurance, refused from jobs, banned from apartments and sent to the dumpsters and refused employment for something legal......... who have children as well and want to help.......it wasn't allowed.

Get ready to wait in line at the hospital.

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