SCHIP Bill Passes House: First Step in Expanding Health Insurance for Kids

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First of all smokers don't live to be elderly! The health care of the elderly costs way more then the health care of dead smokers. Has any one figured out how much an athletes costs the healthe care system? More knees and hips are getting replaced then ever before. I think there should be a BALL tax.
In the News, Drug wars in Mexico. Why? A small bag POT is cheeper then a Carton of Cigarettes and lasts longer. I may switch back.
I may change my mind if the money went to fight cancer. Then I could smoke to fight cancer.

Smoked-Joe of WI 10:56PM March 13, 2009

Well this tax is the one that will make me quit smoking! Along with many others I might add. (I wonder if Obama will quit smoking? I did see him smoking during the campaign.)
So I will be doing my part to LOWER health care for the children. Wonder where they will get the money next, beer, gas, food, clothes?
Only the government knows for sure.

LG of PA 12:05PM March 10, 2009

I guess you don't smoke otherwise you would not be so gungho for this. I bet if you drank wine and they increased the tax on that to pay for this you would say something different.
This is getting rediculous. I notice how quickly everyone jumps in and scream to the high heavens when they talk about increasing gas tax.
I believe you are the one who is selfish. I worked 2 jobs and about 50-70 hours per week to make sure that my daughter had healthcare when she was growing up. I am so sick and tired of paying for everyone else. I am not a resource for the people of this country to bleed dry.

Mary of MA 8:54PM March 09, 2009

If all of us stop smoking, which I really need to do anyway, how will they fund this? I think it is wrong to target ONE area of consumer products that are legal to purchase if you are 18. Why not a straight tax on everything? They may claim to want smokers to stop, but when we do its going to cripple this entire idea. My doctor will thank you! :)

KS of LA 2:39PM March 07, 2009

Yes, you read correctly, 20,000% (twenty-thousand percent) tax increase. On what you say? It is on cigars. Now I understand the intention of this bill, but have you heard of anything so absurd as a 20k% tax increase? If you don't know, that means that for one( 1) cigar, prices would go up by ten dollars!! Now why only attack the cigar industry? How can the government expect to get revenue when it will force many of the cigar industries to faltor and not sell much? They already are taxed quite a bit, a little more would be reasonable, but 20,000 percent??! Also, most don't reaslize that the extended healthcare for the children is taken by reducing coverage on the elderly. How often do kids get sick severely compared to elderly on fixed incomes? It doesn't seem right to punish those that can no longer work and is relying on benefits in a struggling economy. Now I know smoking is bad, but there is already about a 40-75% sin tax on tobacco already in place, and raising it to 20,000% is insane. It is a shame that this bill got passed with such flaws.

Sam of TX 2:45AM March 04, 2009

Not taking action to reinstate this bill would have placed millions of children without health insurance. It's not a perfect bill, but when was the last perfect bill that you saw? At least it isn't loaded with hundreds of earmarks, like the last 8 years.
Complaining that this bill would put you out of work is ignorant. There are several different areas that have to be addressed to stimulate the economy, but we cannot just let valuable programs like this fall to the wayside or we are just shooting ourselves in the foot. The last president cut this bill several times while he spent 20 billion dollars A MONTH (which WAS NOT and STILL IS NOT FUNDED) in Iraq without the permission of Congress or NATO (which the U.S. founded). Just how much longer did you think that we could continue to blow that much money without the economy tanking. The immigrants are the least of our worries.
I don't completely disagree with the immigrant comments other than to say that it does not make this a "bad bill". It's just politics. Every politician is dirty and most of the time they have to return favors at the same time they are trying to do the right thing.

Drew of MO 1:41PM February 21, 2009

My grandchildren need doctors who will accept them on All Kids Insurance. We can't find any in the Oak Forest, Orland Park area. Their doctor just closed his practice. Help?

Pat of IL 6:13PM February 19, 2009

Who on earth said yes to a tax increase of this magnitude? Let me guess, RJ Reynolds backed this bill 100%. We can't roll our own cigarettes to save money anymore, we have to buy theirs.
Time to go back to the Indian Reservations for my cigarettes.

Mike of WA 4:54PM February 19, 2009

I read an ap release on this story and they reluctantly alluded to the fact that new immigrants are now eligible for this government handout. Immigrants used to be exempt for the first 5 years due to the fact that we allow them to immigrate if they are not going to be a burden on the taxpayer. There is also no real way to tell if an immigrant is legal or illegal. Can't even Democrats agree that we need to provide for our own citizens first? Or do they really just want to buy votes with legislation like this. It works when reporters like Michelle here don't highlight the negatives.

Jayne of CA 3:57PM February 18, 2009

What no one seems to mention or care about are the people who make too little to qualify for CHIP! Yes it is true, people who bring in too little must be put on welfare or pay high prices to get good health care for their children. I make too little, I am a freelancer, I do not want welfare, and my child deserves to go to a great ped., my ped. will not take medicare, so I pay for my health insurance and it is very expensive, so I have little concern about people who make too much to qualify. It makes no sense that states would try to push welfare on you instead of correcting this flawed bill...

NN of PA 2:58PM February 16, 2009