Comments on: Why My Family Needs SCHIP

By: Gaius

Gaius — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:34:03 +0000

Maryland does not have a means test for SCHIP – and no, you do not get that “right” to ask that question. And the next comment from the left with bad tags (yours is not the comment, BTW) and I close this comment thread. Someone is trying to post something that is really screwing with the comment system.

By: Andy Vance

Andy Vance — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:25:13 +0000

If there was a means test, both you and I know they would have failed.

Huh? There was a means test and they passed. Are you implying that they lied to get assistance?

My kids go to public schools and we pay for our insurance.

Ok, now that you’ve thrown out this assertion into the public I guess I’m free to ask, How much do you make and how much do you pay?

By: Gaius

Gaius — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:29:43 +0000

The rules for financing commercial property are not the same as the rules for an owner occupied dwelling. Perhaps you might want to take a look at that. There’s a downpayment difference. A big one.

And for the record, the ones I feel sorry for in all this happen to be the family. They were used by the Dems and thrown out to the public. That includes the queries about them, the search of public records and the whole ruckus that the Dems brought on them.

The facts are that most people who have been working long and hard in good professions do not have the kinds of assets these folks do. If there was a means test, both you and I know they would have failed. My mother was not allowed to own more than a few thousnad dollars in assets to qualify for assistence in New York State. (And yes, she had some private insurance – not much – from a job she had worked for years.)

My kids go to public schools and we pay for our insurance. And we do not have the assets these folks have. This debate you wanted is over.

By: Burke

Burke — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:06:13 +0000

Would those facts include the annual income of $45,000? How about the fact that the private school provides tuition assistance to families making up to $160,000/year? Maybe the facts include the 7.7% rise in employer health insurance premiums last year (that number goes up to 8.8% for small businesses and 10.5% for firms of less than 24 employees – http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml). For those keeping score, that’s over twice the rate of inflation for last year.
You bring up a good point about auto insurance helping. There are at least two problems with this supposition though. The first is that not all health insurance denies benefits in the case of auto accidents. Mine does not exclude those costs. So we have no way of knowing if the Frosts would be reliant solely on their auto insurance to cover these costs without SCHIPS. Second, you make no mention of the Maryland liability minimums with regard auto insurance. Most people have only the bare minimum with their insurance (we can agree that this is supposition rather than fact). In the case of a Maryland driver, the liability coverage is 20/40/15. (That’s $20,000 per person for injuries you cause to the other party, up to $40,000 total, and $15,000 for any damage that you cause to the other driver’s car and/or property). Maryland auto insurance laws also require that you purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages, which help cover your expenses should you be in an accident with a driver with inadequate liability coverage. The required minimum on this coverage is also 20/40/15 ($20,000 for injuries per person, up to $40,000 total, and $15,000 for property damage). Finally, Maryland auto insurance laws require that all drivers purchase a minimum of $2,500 in personal injury protection (or PIP). This coverage will help reimburse you for medical expenses and lost wages regardless of who was at fault in an accident.” So continuing the supposition, the Frosts have a minimum of $85,000 from the auto insurance to cover this catastrophe. Without assistance, this would be inadequate to cover their medical expenses.

So in summary, we have a family making $45,000 who can’t afford health insurance. We have a catastrophic accident. We have public assistance to pay for the uncovered medical bills. And we have conservatives making fun of them. What exactly am I missing?

By: Gaius

Gaius — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:02:33 +0000

Well, that might be interesting if they were actual facts instead of supposition. If you hadn’t noticed the big blogs on the left are staying away from this like it is radioactive. There is a reason for that. Staring with a simple fact: automobile insurance covers injury in automobile accidents. My health isurance – which we pay for – specifically excludes automobile accident-related injury. No exceptions.

By: Burke

Burke — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:38:37 +0000

I hate it when the facts get in the way of good humor. http://whiskeyfire.typepad.com/whiskey_fire/2007/10/next-time-you-g.html#comment-85547222

By: Quilly Mammoth

Quilly Mammoth — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:01:15 +0000

Said like Thurston Howell it’s a howler! Great job, but I think I would have dug the knife a little deeper by substituting “mummy” for “mom” in the second to last line.

I know, always a critic….

By: BlueNight

BlueNight — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:55:14 +0000

Whenever SCHIP comes up, just make sure to include a mention of the 25-year-old “children” of 60K/year families.

By: Micah Tillman

Micah Tillman — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 02:58:33 +0000

I didn’t realize I needed this laugh. Thank you!

By: Stop The ACLU

Stop The ACLU — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 01:05:12 +0000

The “Not So Poor” 12 Year Old Voice of SCHIP…

The lefties and the media piled on when Bush used his veto pen on this one. They tried to drop the absolute moral authority bomb on it big time. Looks like a little backfire is on the horizon.
Kim Priestap does a great summary and roundup on this.
On…

By: Vanderleun

Vanderleun — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:11:56 +0000

So fine. So fully packed. So funny.