Hawaii Health Care Handout Halted

Good news and bad news. The good news: Hawaii Ending Universal Child Health Care.   The bad news: My tax dollars have already been spent on freeloaders for seven months.

Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.

“People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free,” said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. “I don’t believe that was the intent of the program.”

“Yeah, but Eric, what about those poor kids who’s parents really really really can’t afford to buy health care for their kids?”  Well, you could give up eating fast food….or:

Families with children currently enrolled in the universal system are being encouraged to seek more comprehensive Medicaid coverage, which may be available to children in a family of four earning up to $73,000 annually.

What most people fail to realize is the vast majority of America’s uninsured either qualify for assistance already in place or they can easily afford it themselves.

These children also could sign up for the HMSA Children’s Plan, which costs about $55 a month.

$55 - that means dropping the premium cable channels, no more going to the theater (or no more popcorn when you do), no more fast food and dining out, two hours of work per week at a minimum wage job, or maybe it means no more smoking, alcohol, or drugs.

2 hours of work a week will pay for children's health care

Best of all, when someone else coughs up a piddly $55 a month, it means I don’t have to pay for their kids going to the doctor.

Related: Seven things to think about before supporting national health care