Change You Can Believe In

[Welcome LGF readers!]

How do you feel about free health care coverage for families earning less than $63,000 per year?
Citizenship not required.

Funding will come in the form of increased taxes,including a 64% hike in federal taxes on cigarettes.

Is the new prez still smoking?

World Net Daily reports this sweeping change in SCHIP is one of the first acts President Obama want's to sign into law.

It seems Pelosi and company have been busy.

Last week, the House voted 289-139 to expand HR 3963, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, a federal program providing coverage to children whose families have higher incomes than those who qualify for Medicaid. The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., renews the program for five years, increases funding from the current $35 billion to $60 billion and expands coverage from million to 11 million uninsured children.

Somehow this flew under the radar.

Sounds good on paper.

But SCHIP requires funding at the state level as well. So where will states, that are already coming up short on tax collections, get the money? Unlike the federal government, states don't have the ability to print and spend money they don't have in the bank.

More than 2 million children who currently have private insurance could be covered under the expansion, causing a shift that could pose a burden to taxpayers.

Why pay for insurance when you can get it for free?

This is an issue with anything, not just health insurance.

The House bill also allows illegal aliens access to SCHIP because it no longer requires identification such as green cards or passports for enrollment. Illegals would be allowed to receive coverage for up to 90 days while states attempt to verify Social Security numbers. If they do not provide valid numbers, they will be dropped from enrollment after three months.

That's comforting.

Illegals who have stolen Social Security numbers could continue to receive SCHIP benefits unless the Social Security Administration tracks the thefts.

So the SSA is going to play the part of Sgt. Friday and track down stolen SS numbers.

Yeah, like that is going to happen.

Not all change is for the good.

One of our readers shared THIS interesting piece about SCHIP and fraud.

An arrest warrant alleges that the couple, both age 47, enrolled themselves and their three children in the HUSKY program in 2006 by saying Epstein was unemployed and Friedman had no income.

According to the warrant, Friedman had substantial income from her pediatrics practice during 2007 and Epstein was covered by a teachers' insurance plan when claims were submitted to Medicaid.

Some people like to game the system. Sounds great until they are caught.