Today in Bush’s Bizzardo World ~ Health Insurance for Kids ~ Or Not, As It Were
August 22, 2007 by demon princess
Is it me, or is the Bushco Tyrannical Formulation of the American Presidency getting more & more extreme with each passing day, & closer to the time when it will play itself out altogether (or so it is fervently hoped)? Especially in his utter disrespect for Congress (see FISA Act revisions of late), & now, in today’s announcement via the Washington Post that, now that Congress has submitted 2 bills aimed at keeping publicly funded health insurance programs extended & afloat for low-income children, which Bush has previously threatened to veto, he does an end-run around the issue by enacting new rules.
The veto threats were made on principled grounds that what’s good for health insurance companies is good for America (the meme being that taking business away from private industry even if private industry wasn’t involved — parents whose employers don’t offer health insurance, for example, or the premiums are not affordable) — is a bad & evil thing because, well, it just is. (Socialized medicine–bad, health insurers’ profits, especially if they can avoid having to pay out with huge deductibles, co-pays, & waiting periods even while collecting high premiums, very good!)
Since Congress is in recess for the summer & can’t do anything about it, Bush sees to it that the relevant federal agencies (which do exist solely to do his bidding & enforce policies as he re-writes them, he thinks) declares that all the rules are changed now:
“The Bush administration, engaged in a battle with Congress over whether a popular children’s health insurance program should be expanded, has announced new policies that will make it harder for states to insure all but the lowest-income children.
“New administrative hurdles, which state health officials were told about late last week, are aimed at preventing parents with private insurance for their children from availing of the government-subsidized State Children’s Health Insurance Program. But Democrats and children’s advocates said that the announcement will jeopardize coverage for children whose parents work at jobs that do not provide employer-paid insurance.
“Under the new policy, a state seeking to enroll a child whose family earns more than 250 percent of the poverty level — or $51,625 for a family of four — must first ensure that the child is uninsured for at least one year. The state must also demonstrate that at least 95 percent of children from families making less than 200 percent of the poverty level have been enrolled in the children’s health insurance program or Medicaid — a sign-up rate that no state has yet managed.
“These and other steps must be implemented within a year, Dennis G. Smith, director of the federal Center for Medicaid and State Operations, advised state health officials in a letter on Friday.
[...]
“States had already been taking steps, such as imposing waiting periods, to keep parents from switching from private to government-subsidized insurance. But children’s advocates called the new measures overly restrictive.”
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I’m sure stymied at what this guy continues to delete from societies needs. He hasn’t a clue at all because he has never wanted for anything. I guess he thinks we all have as much as we could possibly need to get by on. To be heartless to innocent children shows his true nature…and it isn’t a pretty picture…just like you show.
“I guess he thinks we all have as much as we could possibly need to get by on.”
And if we don’t, it’s our own damned faults. Government is not here to coddle you, the folks who paid the taxes in the 1st place. Government is here to support private enterprise & force you into a market that can’t or won’t meet your needs.
Seriously, making children go for a YEAR without health insurance? What if that year just happens fall during the time they should be receiving their vaccinations or well-baby care that could identify treatable childhood conditions BEFORE they become big issues?
WHAT planet is Bush from?
According to Molly Ivins, Bush enacted all sorts of mean-spirited cuts in services for children –and even libraries, Laura’s supposed domain– when he was gov. of TX.
Compassionate conservatism never existed.
Even as one of the poorest poor, my son and I lived on $800 a month,and being severly develpomentally and physically handi~capable~ our health care sucked. We had acess to one doctor who flew into 3 counties and took care of orthopedic needs.Did we live in Alaska? No central Califorina. I had coverage~but no one told me I did till my son died,so my health slowly went down the tubes. We were supposed to be amoung the covered mind you~anybody else who earned $100 more a month had to start paying.Huh? blink indeed.
Oh, Sage…I’m so sorry that it happened to you that way. That’s outrageous! People with this mindset shouldn’t be able to hold high office…read between those lines.
Just seeing seeing that lying two faced idiot sickens me. The Bush Tyrannical Presidency is getting worse but it is not running down. That is wishful thinking. It will get a lot worse as he is speeding the whole thing up in an effort to get this as far along as possible before his time is up.
I personally think he will find his excuse to attack Iran before Congress can stop him and then the argument will be made that he has to stay at the helm. Either that or he will cancel elections and declare martial order if he thinks his new order is in danger. This mess is still just developing and will not end with his mis Presidency.
Hi First time commenting here -
My outrage feels bottomless, The children, the vulnerable, damn near everybody but the 5% uber rich - suffers badly and they do not give a damn. Not a fig.
I just stumbled upon the fact(i had to post about it too) that as of Oct 2008 due to a Medicare change passed in 05, Medicare will no longer cover hospital errors or illnesses that could have been prevented. The ramifications of this are vast. You get hospitalized, you get a bedsore, anykind of infection while there and you are shit out of luck. It would affect “in home care” too,the HMO medicare premium “swipers” can follow suit - its a web.
Another case of stomach churning spin(this will save lives they say - i shit ye not.) It is more YOYO economics and privatizing for the benefit Corporations over people.
They also laud this as a way to reduce hospital errors -NO its a way not to pay and thus KILL people. About now i would like to take that Norquist bathtub and give the Chimp a good head soaking. (nothing outside his codes for detenee treatment of course but whats good enough for them , he deserves in spades.
* sorry about my typos - point of clarificatiion, if you get an illness while hospitalized ie. an infection from a catheter or IV, or fall down and break a bone while in the hospital and “it could have been prevented” gee i wonder who decides if it was preventable - they will not cover your needed treatments. I am beyond outraged. This will also affect many many children who recieve medicare or medicaid funded treatment as within the states HMO managed care organizations follow Medicare guidelines as a standard of care. Bush and more than a few members of Congress needto be detained for crimes against the Constitution and Humanity.
While states have actively worked to address the needs of their residents..BushCo does nothing but undercut them. This federal fuckwit is determined to take care of the top 1% and nothing more. Its pathetic and beyond the pale. From the NYT:
After learning of the new policy, some state officials said today that it could cripple their efforts to cover more children by imposing standards that could not be met.
Between the WaPo article Demon quotes and the NYT writeup..it can not be any clearer to the voting populus..We R Fucked as a Nation.
LOL…D…that made me instantly think of “Toys R Us”…and then that made me think of the condition toys are in coming from China with the lead in the paint and all.
Obviously Bush not only hates children, but he hates poor children at that.
If that is being a “compassionate conservative” I don’t want to be one.
ProudProgressive, welcome, & thanks for your informative comment. My mother is on Medicare, & I had NO idea what was happening there. It’s beyond unconscionable–more like criminal. However, if you do encounter that problem, see a public interest attorney right away. Sue their asses off
I am convinced that we’ve been left no alternative but to do just that. I’ve worked on a few med-malpractice cases, & it is (or was) a recognized & legally legitimate way to force health-care providers to compensate victims, & also a necessary spur to the industry to keep them in check & from getting too sloppy when peoples’ lives are at stake. (That’s why, in fact, Bush’s bogus “tort reform” has been so high on the list of destructive things he has & continues to do to this country.
The laws pertaining to these things vary state to state, but do check in advance to see if there’s a public interest law firm, non-profit group, or elder law legal clinic (check the law schools in your area for the latter), & write the number down. Non-profits & law schools often take these things on for no charge, or a personal injury attorney may take the case on a contingency fee basis (but find out if you’ll be charged “costs” first.) And in all events, try to find someone who has a successful track record with med-mal cases, because they AREN’T easy to litigate. Nothing’s worse than trying to get legal help from lawyers who don’t know the law in their fields or how to bring such a case, one of the more difficult, complex, & fiercely contested. So know these things in advance & prepare.
Sage, I am deeply, deeply sorry for your loss & to hear what happened.
Also, I found this today on TomPaine.com, a link to a diarist for Daily Kos who shares her “middle class” story about what happened when her two kids were diagnosed with autism. Proves how fragile even “middle class” families’ situations can become when confronted by health care costs:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/22/104918/705
If it doesn’t show up as a link (I can’t tell from here), you may have to copy it into your browser).
I feel for these people, because my once-excellent private health insurer, after having to pay out for an expensive operation, unceremoniously dumped me into the state “high risk” health insurance pool, where the premiums were so high I was forced to drop prescription coverage & increase my deductible to $2500 a year. I had to drop it because it was such lousy coverage.