Washington, Aug 26, 2007 -
Florida Today
August 26, 2007

REP. DAVE WELDON
GUEST COLUMNIST

In recent weeks, FLORIDA TODAY has run a cartoon criticizing my vote against a massive $160 billion increase to the State Children's Health Improvement Program (SCHIP) as a vote against healthcare for needy children.

Unfortunately, they failed to tell the whole story about "health insurance plans for low-income children."

SCHIP, as proposed by Democrats in Washington, would:

Allow children up to 25 years of age to qualify.
Families can earn $82,600 ($124,000 if they live in New York!) and qualify as low-income under SCHIP.
Footnote: It is possible for a family to qualify as low-income under SCHIP and also be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax, a tax imposed on higher-income individuals to ensure they pay a minimum level of federal taxes.

Only in Washington can such distorted standards exist.

Allows childless adults to qualify.

Would continue to allow SCHIP benefits to illegal alien children.

Increases annual spending of the program by up to 300 percent.

Raids the Medicare Advantage program by $160 billion to pay for this huge expansion.

Allows families to drop their private employer-provided health plans to enroll in this new "free" government healthcare.

Increases taxes by $31 billion over five years.

These facts alone were enough for me to vote against this bill -- in fact, more Democrats voted against this bill than Republicans who voted for it.

But there is more at play here. Liberals in Congress don't just want the federal government to cover the poor and uninsured. They want to greatly expand this program until they have established universal, taxpayer-funded coverage, beginning with children.

SCHIP was established in 1997 by President Clinton to provide healthcare for children from low-income families who don't qualify for Medicaid. I have recently offered legislation to ensure that funding goes to those children most in need.

Today this program has morphed into a fast-growing healthcare program reaching way beyond its original design, as most government programs do. And it asks senior citizens to pay for it by taking away their Medicare Advantage benefits.

Why do Democrats want to penalize the hugely successful Medicare Advantage program? Because it's a program that Republicans put in place 10 years ago that uses competition and the private sector -- not the federal government -- to meet the healthcare needs of seniors.

While the bill was hailed in the liberal media as victory for "children," it went largely unreported that to pay for SCHIP's massive expansion, Democrats are proposing one of the largest cuts to Medicare in its history.

As a result, 40,000 seniors in my 15th Congressional District will face reduced benefits and less medical choices if the measure is signed into law.

Democrats' expansion of SCHIP is a Trojan horse disguised as healthcare for needy children. In reality, it is an audacious attempt to recreate "Hillarycare" without all the attention it drew the last time they attempted this feat.

The taxpayer should always be wary when the federal government offers you something for nothing. As a humorist once said, "if you think healthcare is costly now, wait until the government gives it to you for free."

Weldon, R-Indialantic, represents Florida's 15th District in Congress, which includes much of Brevard County.