Pressing the Advantage

Since the President is the only person in the world who wants to deny health care to children (by the way, David Broder wrote that story I linked... he still writes news stories?), Democrats in Congress are getting their back up and going even further:

After a rare bipartisan agreement in the Senate to expand insurance coverage for low-income children, House Democrats have drafted an even broader plan that also calls for major changes in Medicare and promises to intensify the battle with the White House over health care.

President Bush has threatened to veto what he sees as a huge expansion of the children’s health care program, which he describes as a step “down the path to government-run health care for every American.” The House measure calls for changes that the administration will probably find even more distasteful, including cuts in Medicare payments to private health plans.

House Democrats hope to portray the issue as a fight pitting the interests of children and older Americans against tobacco and insurance companies. The White House says the Democratic proposals would distort the original intent of the children’s program, cause a big increase in federal spending and adversely affect older Americans who are happy with the extra benefits they receive from private health plans.

That's simply smart politics. Everyone has grandparents and/or children, and nobody wants to see them left to fend for themselves if they don't have the means. In a way the President is right; covering children and the elderly IS a step down the road to a national health care plan. The difference is that most people see that as a good thing, and the President is a terrible salesman for the other side, in virtually every circumstance. So when he comes out against something, the nation usually comes out for it.

What's more, covering children is remarkably cost-effective and will actually save most Americans money in hidden costs like ER visits. The deadline for S-CHIP is September 30, and no lawmaker wants to be the one who allowed it to expire and threw children out of hospitals. It's the perfect time to get as much good out of health care reform as possible.