For the Health of our Grandchildren

It is strange the number of people who think health insurance for children is a bad thing. It is a documented fact that persons with life threatening illnesses are more likely to survive if they are insured. The level of care is much higher for those with insurance.

Maybe they are only opposed to it being financed by a tobacco tax because as the use decreases the income will drop. According to the Washington Post smoking related illnesses cost Medicare $25 billion in 1997. The federal government estimates smoking cost the U.S.A. $52 billion per year, or about $221 per person for all Americans. The cost per person to finance the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is less than $14 per year for each American. If the increase in tobacco taxes and other restrictions results in reduced use the savings to Medicare will more than pay for SCHIP.

They sarcastically suggest we could reduce military spending to pay for health insurance for our children. Now that is actually a good idea. If we brought our troops home from the terrorist training ground we have created in Iraq we could save $200 million per day. In 200 days that would pay for ten years of SCHIP and then we could we could use this money to begin building our military back to a level where we could all feel secure again.

There has been suggestion that upper income middle class families will be able to receive SCHIP insurance and that some adults will be insured. Although there will always be some misuse when government projects are involved this is a program for children who would not otherwise be insured. The states administer these programs and the insurance is provided by private companies.

As a baby boomer I know what the reaction would be if we tried to eliminate Medicare. Why is it we would fight so hard to be sure the elderly have health insurance but we aren’t willing to spend $14 a year to provide the same benefit to our grandchildren?