Pediatricians Are All In Favor Of Kids Health Insurance – And Want You And Me To Pay For It
A group of pediatricians gathered outside of a Valley children’s hospital Tuesday and urged President Bush not to veto a bill that provides health insurance to the children of working low-income families.
About 35 physicians protested at Phoenix Children’s Hospital entrance over the possible loss of Children’s Health Insurance Program or SCHIP. The federal program, that started in 1997 covers uninsured children who don’t qualify for Medicaid is scheduled to expire in Sept. 30, 2008. [source]
Think of the Children!
The bill would reauthorize funds for five years and expand the program that covers 6.6 million children per year nationally. It benefits 58,000 Arizona children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid or unable to afford medical coverage on their own.
Hmmm… they make too much money to qualify. But I wonder how many of them are driving around a $50,000 SUV. Maybe it’s not an issue of not being able to afford medical care for your children, but an issue of priorities not being in order.
The president believes the $35 million expansion of SCHIP would create a social program. It would cause people with private health coverage to get on government-financed plans.
The President believes right for once.
Randal C. Christensen, a Phoenix Children’s general pediatrician who oversees the health care of homeless youth, said the expanded program would help 82,000 more Arizona children over five years.
The doctors are advocates for kids and wanted to stand up for kids, Christensen said.
Keep in mind that these doctors live in nicer homes than you and I. They drive nicer cars than you and I. And they collect a fatter paycheck than you and I. And they want you and I to pay for this “insurance” that pays their big fat salary. But it’s all about the kids.
“We believe that when children get health insurance, they lead healthier lives, they go to school more often, they ultimately become more productive adults,” Christensen said. “We want the rest of our state to stand up for the children as well.”
They’re very altruistic when it comes to our money.
Jennifer Sandstorm, a Flagstaff resident, said she understood the idea behind the protest. Her 3-year-old son was born with a birth defect and receives medical treatment in order to hear, thanks to Medicaid coverage but, if her daughter gets ill, she won’t qualify because her father earns $6 too much, Sandstorm said.
If a medical emergency were to occur involving her daughter, the family would resort to “raising serious funds,” Sandstorm said.
I don’t even know what that last line is supposed to mean. But she’s definitely saying that her baby-daddy earns too much money for you and I to get stuck paying the kid’s medical bills. Boo. Hoo.
I’m opening up comments on this one. Am I a cold hearted son-of-a-bitch, or just someone who advocates self sufficiency and fiscal responsibility? Let me know.
