20071107 Smoking is good for health care

Smoking is good for health care

November 7th, 2007

A huge hat tip to the Pillage Idiot for calling to our attention “Video: Care enough to smoke?” on Hot Air: Flu season's coming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_LutWBunb4

Meanwhile I wrote a column on S-CHIP some time ago on The Tentacle: October 17, 2007, The Shipwreck Known as SCHIP

In 1997 the Republican controlled Congress enacted the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - a joint federal and state government initiative that provides low-cost health insurance for children of lower income families.

Specifically targeted were families who cannot afford private health insurance, but do not qualify for Medicaid. Over 6.6 million children were eligible for health insurance under the program.

In his 2008 budget, President George W. Bush proposed to increase SCHIP funding by $5 billion over five years - a 20 percent increase over current levels of funding.

Congress agreed several weeks ago to reauthorize the program with guidelines which would increase the cost $12 billion a year for the next five years - over $60 billion. The expanded coverage would make another four million children eligible, half of which would come from families who already have health insurance.

Funding for the proposal would primarily come from a 61-cent per pack increase in the federal cigarette tax. Of course, Congress understands that this is a relatively "easy" tax increase as there are very few votes in Congress representing tobacco growing states - and cigarette smokers, long since vilified, have essentially no voice.

Read the entire column here: The Shipwreck Known as SCHIP

_____