...who don't have healthcare. In 2007, when Congress considered expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover millions of additional kids from low income families, McCain voted against it. The bill passed anyway but President Bush vetoed it. McCain praised Bush's decision and characterized the program as "out-of-control spending" (taxpayer cost would have been $35 billion over 5 years). From CNN:
Expanding the program to cover children in families up to 400 percent of the poverty line would an "unfunded liability," the Arizona Republican said.
So what is McCain's plan for you uninsured 3rd graders and your families? Well, it's not so much a "plan" as it is a "kick in the teeth". From the Obama campaign:
The McCain health plan does not even attempt to solve the problem of the uninsured – it barely reduces the number of uninsured individuals, and it leaves those with preexisting conditions at the greatest risk of being unable to find affordable coverage.
And for those 3rd graders whose families are lucky enough to have health insurance now, consider these your "glory days":
By taxing employee health benefits, the McCain plan will make it more expensive for employers to provide coverage. As a result, independent analyses show that employers will drop at least 20 million people from coverage and force them to seek insurance in the individual market, where costs are higher, quality is lower, and coverage more uncertain. By moving more risk upon the shoulders of individuals, it raises insurance costs for everyone nationally. And by forcing millions into the individual market, people with pre-existing conditions from asthma to cancer will be at risk of not being able to get health insurance at all.
So here's a shout-out to all the 3rd graders with asthma whose parents can't get health insurance for them (you unfunded liabilities, you!) or whose families might lose the insurance they have and be unable to obtain new coverage if McCain gets elected. Dang, that doesn't sound folksy and small town value-ish at all. [Editor: please add in as many "You betcha" and "Joe Six Pack" phrases as possible and distribute throughout. wink Also.]