Post-Gazette Editorial – 9/16/06

This page was last updated on September 21, 2006.

Kids’ stuff / Lawmakers need to help uninsured children; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; September 16, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Earlier this year when it raised the minimum wage, the Legislature solved for Pennsylvanians a problem that Congress has refused to resolve for all Americans, and now the state’s lawmakers need to show that same leadership again.”

[RWC] Exactly what problem did the General Assembly solve by raising the minimum wage? As I’ve noted many times before, it’s a feel good exercise akin to a dog chasing his tail, at best.

“They must keep their promise to Gov. Ed Rendell to pass by the beginning of October legislation to enact a program called Cover All Kids, under which every uninsured child in Pennsylvania could receive free or reduced rate health coverage. Like the increase in minimum wage, Cover All Kids is a program that would aid the state’s lowest-income citizens.”

[RWC] No one would “receive free or reduced rate health coverage.” Someone always pays. In this case, it will be a combination of taxpayers and increased prices for everyone else.

“The lawmakers already indicated their commitment to the program by dedicating $4.4 million in this year’s budget to launch it. When they were unable to pass the enabling legislation before their summer break, eight House and Senate leaders from both parties signed a letter to Gov. Rendell pledging that they’d get it done before youngsters began the annual ritual of rotting their teeth on Halloween.

“The state estimates that 96 percent of all Pennsylvania children are covered by plans purchased by their parents, their parents’ employers or provided through federally subsidized Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, CHIP.

“That leaves about 133,600 youngsters uninsured. Most of them, about 107,000, qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. Cover All Kids would provide insurance for the remaining 26,000 with the state paying some of the cost and parents with modest incomes paying some.

[RWC] Note the editorial didn’t tell us what a “modest income” is.

“In a state that could brag that it covers all kids, the parents of the 107,000 who qualify for Medicaid or CHIP would be far more likely to sign them up. Studies have found that for the most part these youngsters are uninsured because their parents don’t know they qualify for the subsidized programs.”

[RWC] I’d rather have a state that could brag it’s trying to bring down healthcare prices by eliminating its interference in the healthcare market.

“The state’s cost to Cover All Kids would rise over several years as more youngsters enrolled to a maximum commitment of $50 million for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

[RWC] “A maximum commitment?” Yeah, right. Believe that and I’d like to sell you the deed to the Brooklyn Bridge.

“The investment is worth it to improve the health of the state’s most vulnerable and to prevent the state’s hospitals from suffering unreimbursed costs incurred when they treat uninsured children, who often arrive very sick because their parents, without a way to pay, hesitate to seek care earlier.”

[RWC] This is more of the “do it for the children,” “do it for the elderly,” et cetera tactic.

“Some legislators seem to be waffling now, however, persuaded by insurance executives that parents will drop private plans and buy into this program instead. That’s just nuts. It won’t happen because to qualify for the federally subsidized programs, a child must have been without insurance for several months. No sane parent with private insurance would take that risk.”

[RWC] “No sane parent …?” In theory, no sane parent has children he cannot support without sticking his hand out.

“The House Democratic Policy Committee’s Healthcare Excellence and Accountability Response Team will conduct a hearing on Cover All Kids (and AdultBasic) on Tuesday from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Beaver County Community College in Monaca. The hearing will be held in the auditorium of the Allied Health Building.

“Western Pennsylvania residents should go and show their support for Pennsylvania’s leadership in ensuring that children in this state grow up healthy.”

[RWC] When do you think we’ll have a hearing addressing the problem of people having kids they know they can’t support on their own?

I attended the hearing and was overcome by the attendance – not. True believers made up the panel of 10, plus there were four to five staffers in attendance.

How many residents attended? Three, including me!