California plans to turn kids away from universal health care program

Steve Boren · #1 (**permalink**) 01.02.09, 07:16 PM

California plans to turn kids away from universal health care program

I keep telling you that universal health care is bad news. Try as they might, U.S. states that have put it into practice keep coming up short… literally. California is just the latest example.

California's Healthy Families Program provides health insurance for the children of the working poor – specifically, kids whose parents make less than $3,667 a month for a family of three and $4,417 a month for a family of four.

There's just one problem – there's not enough money to go around. With over 900,000 kids already enrolled in the program – and 27,000 new children being added each month – the program will be more than $17.2 million in debt if they don't so something soon.

So the state officials are seriously considering putting a cap on enrollment. You read that right: the state-run healthcare program is going to limit the number of people they care for, because if they don't, the system will be completely overwhelmed.

"If the board does not cap enrollment, it would have to take other, more drastic actions later," said Lesley Cummings, the executive director of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board. "Capping enrollment rather than eliminating coverage that a child currently has seems the preferable path."

If California can't afford state-sponsored health care for just the children of low-income families – how in the world does Uncle Sam think he can afford to cover the rest of us?

Wondering why anyone in the universe supports universal health care,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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