The Schip Revelation

The Schip Revelation: "Schip was created as a program that needs to be reauthorized every decade; the House plan makes it a permanent entitlement. Schip was supposed to help the uninsured; the House plan is consciously designed to 'crowd out' private coverage and replace it with federal welfare. The bill goes so far as to offer increasing 'bonus payments' to states as they enroll more people in their Schip programs. To grease the way, the bill re-labels 'children' as anyone under 25, and 'low income' as up to 400% above the poverty level, or $82,600 for a family of four. As if this all weren't blunt enough, the House's Schip bill also includes a new tax on private insurance policies. Assessed at $375 million in its first year and increasing thereafter, this so-called 'fair-share' tax will fund a new government agency to study the 'comparative effectiveness' of certain medical treatments and kinds of insurance. Unremarked is that health insurance is already more expensive than it needs to be because of mandates like this one. To finance its Schip largesse, the House would eviscerate Medicare Advantage, an innovative 2003 program that allows seniors to choose among various private health plans. It's growing rapidly and currently serves some 8.3 million seniors, or about 18% of the eligible population."