Bush's heartless Rx

Bush's heartless Rx



Tuesday, August 21st 2007, 4:00 AM


President Bush has a message for the millions of parents who can't afford decent health care for their children: Stop whining and go to the emergency room.

How else to interpret his stubborn opposition to expanding government coverage for kids, the utterly innocent victims of America's Swiss cheese health system?

First, Bush threatened to veto legislation - passed by bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress - that would give states money to insure millions more low- and moderate-income children.

Then last week, the Bush administration threw a monkey wrench into Gov. Spitzer's plan for adding 400,000 more kids to New York's Child Health Plus program. Draconian rules issued by the feds late Friday would make it all but impossible for Spitzer to achieve his worthy goal of near-universal childhood coverage.

These knee-jerk decisions show that Bush either doesn't understand the crisis of the uninsured or isn't serious about addressing it.

"They're playing politics at the expense of all of these children," said Jennifer Rojas, deputy director of the Children's Defense Fund - New York.

America's health-care system is the best in the world - if you have insurance. We spare no expense on those poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, old enough to enroll in Medicare or lucky enough to have a job with good health benefits.

But one out of six Americans - an estimated 44 million people, including 2.8 million New Yorkers - falls through the cracks. Most of the uninsured have jobs, but they're either self-employed or work for a small company that doesn't offer benefits. Millions of middle-class parents cannot possibly afford the premium for family coverage - which averages $11,000 a year and is soaring - without plenty of outside help.

The health-care lottery is particularly cruel to kids, who have no control over their family's insurance status. Parents struggling to pay the rent may be forced to skimp on doctor visits, with long-term, potentially tragic consequences for kids with asthma and diabetes.

Governors are trying to tackle the situation head-on by offering free or low-cost health coverage for children. Spitzer wants to make Child Health Plus available for families making up to about $83,000 for a family of four, with families at the top of that scale expected to chip in part of the cost.

The House and Senate were ready to support those efforts by greatly expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program, which picks up 65% of states' costs.

Bush responded with ideological boilerplate about tax incentives and health savings accounts - which won't put the slightest dent in the problem - and issued dark warnings against "government control of health care."

What quackery. Spitzer's plan would cost $1,500 per kid per year - much less than the cost of a single hospitalization for a child with poorly managed diabetes. And New York buys its coverage from private health plans which deliver care mostly through private hospitals and doctors. Socialized medicine, this is not.

Bush's cluelessness on the issue was on vivid display at a speech in Cleveland when he tried to defend his veto threat.

"People have access to health care in America," he said. "After all, you just go to an emergency room."

On this issue, it's our President who needs a checkup - from the neck up.

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Bush's compassion continues to shine through.