This is the letter I sent to both my state senator and my state representative about the governor's bone-headed plan.
October 27, 2005
I write to express my strong opposition to the governor’s latest desperate and cynical stunt to raise his falling poll numbers and distract the public from the current investigation of corruption in his administration. I refer to his “All Kid’s” Hillary Lite insurance program. Even the name demonstrates his condescending view of the electorate. Doesn’t he realize that we are on to the fact that whenever liberals want to take away our freedom and our money they claim it’s “for the children?”
I acknowledge that it might be tempting to support this program, and I know that some well-meaning, but misguided people overcome with the emotion that the governor’s demagoguery is designed to inflame, have. As a public policy maker, however, it is your duty to base your decisions not on feel-good slogans or short-term poll numbers, but on facts, logic and common sense. With those things in mind, please consider the following:
(1) If I have to pay for insurance, how will I afford that new flat screen TV?
“The program is designed to aid families who make too much income for state programs and not enough to afford private plans.
The premium will vary for families and will be based on their income and number of children.
In the All Kids plan, a family with an income between $40,000 and $59,999 a year will pay a premium $40 to $80 per month; a family with an income between $60,000 and $79,999 will pay a premium of $70 to $140 per month; a family with an income between $80,000 and $99,999 will pay $100 to $200 per month; and families with incomes of $100,000 and above will pay $150 to an undermined amount set.
There will also be a co-pay added to each plan that will also be based on your income.”
“Niccum, Ann (2005, October 21). “All Kids” insurance plan hailed,” Edwardsville Intelligencer.
http://www.goedwardsville.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15429851&BRD=2291&PAG=461&dept_id=473648&rfi=6
Let me get this straight. At a time of fiscal crisis, when the state of Illinois has had to borrow $1 billion to pay backlogged Medicaid bills, we’re going to initiate another state program to help provide medical insurance for the children of people who earn $100,000 or more a year?
On Tuesday, 10/25/05, the governor suggested that when evaluating his plan, we should think of it as an example of the Golden Rule. So I did. I asked myself if I would expect my neighbors to pay for health insurance for my children if I made $100,000 a year. Would I knock on my neighbors’ doors and say “Excuse me, but it will cost me $400 a month to get health insurance for my family, but that’s way too much, even though I make $100,000 a year. After all, I have a flat-screen TV, a satellite dish, two late-model cars, and regularly dine out in restaurants, and I don’t want have to give that stuff up, so would you mind just give me $50 bucks a month to help out? I figure if I can get every one on this block to do that, I should be ok. What do you think?” It sounds absurd, but the only difference is that if “All Kids” becomes law rather than my neighbors being able to voluntarily contribute, or justifiably slam the door in my face, the state of Illinois will put a gun to our heads and force us to pay for insurance for those who can afford it but choose not to do so.
If you vote for this program, how will you explain to hard-working citizens, many of whom who make less than $100,000 a year, that they need to work long hours to pay for the insurance of those who earn that much and more?
(2) As a caller to my show said, it’s a prescription that will make us sicker
Speaking of those who choose not to spend their money on health insurance, despite the claims of the supporters of this hare-brained plan, it’s difficult to believe that employers will have any incentive to continue to subsidize employee health insurance once the state steps in. And once they do, do you share the governor’s confidence that adults won’t abandon their own coverage, since after all, it’s having their kids insured that is their biggest concern, resulting in even more uninsured people than before? What’s to prevent people from abandoning their more comprehensive coverage for the 12 months required, purchasing a high-deductible policy for that time, and then joining All Kids? How exactly will people prove that they have been uninsured for one year? Any chance some of them might fabricate that evidence? The governor’s answer to these concerns is—here’s a shocker—punitive laws and a new bureaucracy to enforce them. That couldn’t have anything to do with his desire to have more patronage jobs to spread around, could it, or am I being as cynical as the governor?
(3) What’s the rush?
This program is a solution in search of a problem. If it weren’t,
the governor and his minions wouldn’t have had to send our reams of form letters to state agencies, instructing everyone to retype them on letterhead and send them to you in the legislature, as the Chicago Tribune reported. That’s no surprise. As pointed out above, many of the people covered can take care of their children’s medical needs much more effectively, and no knowledgeable person would suggest that the government of the state of Illinois could do so more efficiently than the private sector. If you disagree, stop and consider the current Medicaid situation, which has physicians and hospitals receiving 60% of the cost of services and waiting 3 to 4 months to get that.
Maybe this program might help some people at the margins, but those who are in real need are already being helped by Kidcare and Medicaid. Even if might benefit some, other than the governor’s poll numbers, is there any reason to rush it through before the details are fleshed out? I don’t know about you, but when I go in to make a purchase and the salesman insists that this terrific offer expires TODAY, and that therefore, I must act immediately, my reaction is to do a quick reassuring check for my wallet and run, not walk, out of the store. If it’s a good deal, it can withstand careful evaluation and deliberate consideration. If it’s not, we’ve got no business passing it.
I look forward to hearing that you will not only vote against this plan, but also use every mechanism in your power to see that it is not enacted. The little we know about it suggests that at best it is well intentioned, but at worst very bad policy.
Very truly yours,
Teri O’Brien
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why “60 Minutes” featured Louis Freeh on last Sunday’s broadcast and not one of their own, Mary Mapes? After all, they both have new books out. Perhaps they knew they’d have a tough time spinning the insane ravings of this pathetic democrat operative masquerading as a news professional. It starts with the title, “Truth and Duty.” Which of those does she know anything about? Certainly not the first one since, unless I’m missing something, using forged documents to try to change the outcome of a presidential election doesn’t have anything to do with truth. As for duty, perhaps Ms. Mapes can make an argument that she does know a little something about that, in the same way that members of the SS did, but I’m not sure that’s something to celebrate and be proud of.
Howard Kurtz in the WaPo wrote about the book, and his piece contained a few excerpts, and as you would expect, they are inadvertently hilarious. My favorite is this one, which even on first reading, sounded vaguely familiar,
“And right now, on the Internet, it appeared everything was falling apart. I had a real physical reaction as I read the angry online accounts. It was something between a panic attack, a heart attack and a nervous breakdown. My palms were sweaty; I gulped and tried hard to breathe …The little girl in me wanted to crouch and hide behind the door and cry my eyes out.”
Why am I reminded of the line from that Eagles song “Get Over It,” that goes “I want to find your inner child and kick its little ass?”
Speaking of that, I don’t think this book would be of interest to anyone but Ms. Mapes therapist, so on second thought, I can see why the suits at “60 Minutes” didn’t want to bring her in for an interview. That, and her ignominious firing.
You can find a link to the Editor and Publisher story about Mapes’ book under “Recent Show Topics” at http://www.teriobrien.com