House Votes to Ignore Bush SCHIP Threat

SCHIP Expansion Passed

As I reported last month when the Congress was on its summer vacation, President Bush promised in July to veto any legislation reauthorizing and expanding the State Children’s Insurance Program, a.k.a. SCHIP.

He’s stuck to that promise even as members of his own party – and a large swath of its right-wing ‘base’ – have turned on him over this issue. Many Congressional Republicans facing re-election next year have been getting an earful from the constituents back home about children’s health care and the millions of working poor and middle class children who are functionally uninsured. It’s a public health issue. It’s a moral issue. It’s a big political thorn in the side. But, as usual, Silver spoon George is deaf and dumb. There’s just something about providing health care to other people’s children he can’t stomach. And since he keeps reminding us that he’s the Decider-er, that’s that.

45 Republican members of the House joined Democrats to pass the SCHIP bill, but 159 of them stuck with Bush. The 265 votes for passage are not enough to override the threatened veto, so expected Senate passage of the bill later this week is a mere formality. SCHIP will be unfunded, and more than 10.6 million children will be SOL when it comes to basic and necessary health care. Current SCHIP funding expires on Sunday.

More on the Health Insurance Scam

On another front in the health care wars, eugene over at DKos educates readers about how the people who DO have health insurance are not getting their health care needs met:
Blue Cross: Miscarriage = Elective Abortion

As reported in a story in the Consumerist, a Kansas City woman who suffered a miscarriage and went to the ER has had her claim denied by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City denied because they consider miscarriage to be an elective abortion.

The story is just one of thousands that happen every day all across America, perhaps more interesting than most flat claim denials by for-profit insurers because it adds such a burden of gross insult to the injury of having lost a baby who was anticipated with love. Insurance companies pay pretty good wages to whole departments full of people who do nothing all day long but pick the crude form letter that denies health care claims.

This woman who just lost her child shouldn’t have to teach insurance company pencil pushers practicing medicine long-distance without licenses the difference between a miscarriage and an elective abortion. That’s some pain and suffering damages right there!

Luckily, an ‘insider’ from BCBS NY quickly published in the Consumerist the straight dope on how to go about appealing this gross injustice. I hope this lady gets satisfaction from Blue Cross, but I’d have advised her not to call these folks any more – communicate by letter, save everything, send copies of all correspondence to the Insurance Commissioner’s office and hospital, and for gosh sakes, get a lawyer! If things aren’t resolved post haste, a single letter from a lawyer to the right people can do wonders. Definitely worth the $100 or so that much work costs.

Perhaps the current total implosion of our dysfunctional health care and insurance systems in this country is timely. At least, for getting the Democratic front-runners off their stupid health care policy plans that are nothing but public bail-outs of the crooked insurance industry. We need real universal, single-payer health care in this country. Anything that preserves the futures trade in for-profit human suffering is more of the same old same old. It’s killing us.

Links:

Sick to Death: Health Care in America

Suffer the Little Children

SCHIP: The GOP Campaign Against Children

House votes to expand health insurance for children

Blue Cross: Miscarriage = Elective Abortion

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Filed under Bush, For-Profit Insurance, Health Care, Universal Care | Comments (4)