President Bush is right to question a proposed expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program(“Bush: No Deal on Children’s Health Plan,” July 19) for low-income uninsured children.
The Congressional Budget Office has concluded that as many as half the children who get health insurance through SCHIP had been covered under private insurance.
One irony is that the funding mechanism for the expansion — huge increases in tobacco taxes — will fall disproportionately on lower-income families. The proposed tax hikes will add to their financial difficulties while enabling more families who already can afford health insurance to go on the government dole.
Steve Stanek ([email protected]) is a research fellow for The Heartland Institute.
