More on SCHIP

There has been some really interesting material in the Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World-Herald these past few days regarding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Here’s how the timeline played out:

SATURDAY: Jeff Koterba’s cartoon, declared by Kyle Michaelis of the New Nebraska Network as one of the worst editorial cartoons of all time, runs in the World-Herald. I used to work with Kyle, I occasionally write and comment on the NNN site, and he occasionally plugs my cartoons, but I had nothing to do with it!!

Kyle says:

Omaha World-Herald cartoonist Jeff Koterba had an absolutely appalling cartoon in Saturday’s edition. You really should see this one for yourself.

In it, a mother carries a sign reading “I’m Pro-SCHIP and I vote!!!” while her daughter says of the protesting parents “If they really cared about our future, wouldn’t they oppose the expansion of government?”

Koterba’s work is rarely very funny or insightful, but this is an embarrassment to editorial cartooning. How much do you have to distort an issue to suggest that children are better off with no medical care than with subsidized care?

SUNDAY: The Journal Star editorial board hits a home run with SCHIP needs Nebraska delegation, pointing out the bipartisan cooperation that has gotten the bill as far as it has, yet not quite far enough to withstand Bush’s veto. The editorial also does a great job of putting the hysterical critics of the bill in their proper place with a great quote from REPUBLICAN Charles Grassley:

The bill is not a government takeover of health care. The bill is not socialized medicine.

Screaming ‘socialized medicine’ during a health care debate is like shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. It is intended to cause hysteria that diverts people from looking at the facts.

To those of you who make such outlandish accusations, I say, go shout ‘fire’ somewhere else. Serious people are trying to get real work done. Now’s the time to get this done.

They also point out the absurdity of one of the key points brought up by opponents:

The Bush administration has made the attention-grabbing claim that it would expand federal coverage to families earning $83,000 a year. That claim is about a single hair short of bogus. Its only factual basis is a request by New York to expand coverage to 400 percent of poverty. In Nebraska the current guideline is 185 percent of poverty. In reality the bill contains disincentives for states that raise the eligibility limit above the federal minimum and incentives for reaching eligible families who are not enrolled.

The ed also points out the hypocrisy of those who supported Bush’s prescription drug benefits and the similarities between the bills. It’s definitely worth a read.

MONDAY: Not surprisingly, Rep. Lee Terry shows up late to the debate, fully equipped with hollow talking points. In today’s Public Pulse in the Omaha World-Herald, Terry provides a condescending lesson to those who support SCHIP.

I was amused by Andy Siref’s Oct. 4 letter about the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. We share the same goal of helping uninsured children who are from lower-income families.

If that were the aim of the bill presented to Congress, I would have voted “yes” instead of “no.”

But the facts are that the bill I voted against would enable coverage for children and their parents when they may earn as much as $80,000 or more per year and may even already have health insurance.

The bill also would more than double the cost of this government-run program at a time when most Nebraskans want Congress to control spending…

Poor Lee. At this rate, Nebraska’s senior representative is making Adrian Smith look clever.

Related cartoons: