Maybe Mr Kahn ought to get his facts straight. Corzine is making a stand for socialized medicine. No child will be dropped from the program. The new legislation is aimed at families who have insurance available but might be asked to kick in. Interesting. Corzine has left out the bottom teir and run off to get the votes. looks like Khan is running after votes. Below poverty level does not vote.We don't service them. Giving benefits to folks at 350 % of poverty or above and handing insurance to people who hav eit offered but have to pay and giving insurance to adults in the name of families on a KID plan is not kosher. Let's not feed votes. Let's get the welfare kids their. shots

5:23 PM, October 04, 2007

Mr. Khan is doing a disservice to himself by touting the Democrat talking points on this issue. The program as offered is nothing more than an attempt to start socialized medicine. A childe is not someone that is twenty five years old and a person making 87,000 a year is not a poor person. Ask someone making 30, 000 a year if someone making 87,000 a year should get free health care and see what their answer is. Mr Khan is showing that he is nothing more than a shrill for the D party

8:26 PM, October 04, 2007

Watch the backlash against Jersey Joe and Alex DeCroce.

The voters are sick of incumbents.

What did the Republicans do when they were in control?

The best they can say is that they weren't arrested by Chris Christie.

Jay Webber should have been our Senate candidate.

11:51 PM, October 04, 2007

Ed:
I must disagree. Socialized medicine? Hardly. Kids are covered through private insurance. Rodney is dead wrong on this one. Just look at the Republicans in Congress who disagree with him.

10:21 AM, October 05, 2007

Fred

This is another case of the Democrats say that Republicans want to starve little children and let them be sick and without health care options. The facts are that the Democrats want to offer the SCHIP program to people making 87,000 a year and to children that are 25 years old. In most states the program is offered to families that earn 2 time the poverty level or 56,000 dollars for a family of four. In NJ Corzine offers the program to families making 3.5 times the poverty level or 78,000 dollars a year. The truth fact is that the President offered a 5 billion dollar renewal package but the Dems want 7 billion so the Dems are calling Republicans heartless. The only heartless action here is that the Dems want to spend our money on another entitlement program. I wish for once you would tell the full story, it is dishonest to only give the liberal side of the story. By the way just because some Republicans support this big spending program does not make it right, as you often point out Republicans can be wrong.

10:53 AM, October 05, 2007

Ed:
You live in New Jersey and you know that the cost of living is so high here that a family can be very comfortable living in Nebraska on $50,000 a year, but that's not the case in New Jersey. That's why the cap is much higher here. It makes perfect sense. And no one is saying anyone is starving anyone.

11:46 AM, October 05, 2007

People making 30,000 a year will say why use tax dollars for people making 87,000 a year. The adveage salary in New Jersey 47,000 a year

3:46 PM, October 05, 2007

Mr. Kahn has a longshot chance in this race.

He needs to get his message out.

We are sick of incumbents who do nothing.

10:22 PM, October 05, 2007

Rodney is 100% right on this one and people fail to understand we are not talking about the working poor. We are talking socialized medicine. Young single adults and for that matter ANY AGE ADULTS making 10,000...$15,000...$35,000....
$85,000 ....DOES NOT MATTER what amount they do not qualify for free insurance. WHY then do parents making this amount qualify for free insurance in the state of New Jersey? It does not matter if they own their own home or their own business or a BMW. KID care has become FAMILY care. By raising the limits I not only pay my insurance but everyone elses. When I was part of the working poor I had no insurance until I could afford catastrophic insurance. Government employees pay a portion of their insurance, yet the government gives insurance to people who opt out of their work plan to get free insurance.
Voters need to research this one and see what it is costing them.

4:47 PM, October 06, 2007

Wasim Khan mischaracterized Bush's veto. Bush simply did not extend SCHIP benefits to cover 25 year old in families making up to $87,000 per year.

The kids who are covered now will remain covered.

Khan needs a real issue to run on.

5:55 PM, October 06, 2007

The republicans were against medicare labeling it socialized medicine. They were against social security labeling it socialism
Their capitalism has the smell of big oil

9:40 PM, October 06, 2007

There’s nothing stopping states from expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). New Jersey’s S-CHIP currently costs $480 million - $312 million from federal taxpayers and $168 million from state taxpayers. If the people of New Jersey want to extend the benefit to more citizens, all the state need do is fund it to whatever level of expansion desired. So, why isn’t the state expanding NJ Family Care, its S-CHIP program?

To fund an expansion the state would have to cut spending elsewhere in its budget or raise taxes (which is exactly the same thing the federal government will need to do to expand the program nationwide).

Given these options, Governor Jon Corzine and state legislators have decided not to fund an expansion, but would be thrilled to take credit for it if some other taxpayers could be found to pay for it. They’ve set their sites on federal taxpayers, who just happen to live in New Jersey.

For every tax dollar New Jerseyans send to Washington, the state of New Jersey receives just 55 cents in return, the lowest return of the 50 states. This is to be expected because poorer states send fewer tax dollars to Washington and receive more help from the federal government. New Jersey is the first or second richest state in the nation and therefore, its citizens are taxed more heavily by the federal government and receive fewer benefits in return.

It doesn’t make financial sense for New Jerseyans to send additional tax dollars to Washington to expand a healthcare program for New Jersey - especially when 45 cents on every dollar is lost in the process. That would be a heavy price to pay merely to allow state lawmakers to take credit for extending a benefit while avoiding blame for raising taxes to pay for it.

If the goal is to double the number of people covered through NJ S-CHIP, the state will need $480 million. This can be achieved by earmarking one-half of last year’s sales tax increase to pay for expanding the program rather than using it for “property tax relief”. Or other state taxes can be increased by $480 million.

If the expansion is funded through the federal government, New Jersey taxpayers will need to send Washington an additional $696 million to receive $480 million in return.

There are other ways to make healthcare insurance more affordable in New Jersey, but if we must expand NJ S-CHIP, let’s skip the middlemen in Washington.

11:56 PM, October 06, 2007

The poster who stated that Republicans are against Medicare is symptomatic of the problem voters have.

People do not understand that Medicare is a federal program that is a companion of Social Security programs.

This vote was for a federal welfare program under the MEDICAID system adminsitered through the states. That is how Corzine gets to flex his muscles.

The congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen did NOT vote to throw children already on the system off.

In New Jersey the goverment has taken great liberties with the program by raising the income limits and adding parents and partners to the program.
They have also allowed families to opt out of their own offered insurance for free insruance for families.

THAT FOLKS IS SOCIALIZED MEDICINE AS DESIGNED BY THE DEMOCRATS IN TRENTON.

We are paying for the poor and the not poor to have insurance while we pay for our own insurance.

Frelinghuysen was right on on this one. BRAVO!

Kahn is playing on the lack of research on the part of the voters and to listen to sound bites and go ohh ...

New Jersey has repeatedly been attacked by those in the know and in editorials stating NJ SCHIP is being abused and is not following the federal guidelines and for using federal tax dollars for the poor.

Clue: read some of the health or financial papers, for example the Harard Newsletter and the Wall Street Journal.

10:24 AM, October 07, 2007

Why don't all you conservatives tell Arnold and the rest of his GOP buddies off. If only we had sensible Republicans around here.....

read Arnold and Elliot here

"We agree with your push for states to be a force for change in the delivery of health care to tens of
millions of our fellow Americans who remain without meaningful coverage. But as you rally
governors to do more to help fix our broken health care system, your administration has repeatedly
modified existing Medicaid and SCHIP rules, harming states’ capacity to help you achieve our
shared objectives."



BTW.... stop spouting off GOP talking points before you check your facts...
Fact Check debunks the GOP

12:17 PM, October 07, 2007

SCHIP: Who's Eligible Now?
State Income Ceiling
% of Federal Poverty Level In dollars: Family of 4, 2007
1 New Jersey 350% $72,275

According to the site the last poster refered us to Americans should be shocked on how they are subsidizing their neighbors while they pay for their own health insurance. The Democrats are slowly forcing us into belieivng socialized medicaine is not socialized medicine.

I do not call the California governor, married to a Democrat, a hero when he advocates families dropping their insurance coverage at work to jump on the government pay out. It used to be called WELFARE.

Do not scream balanced budget on one hand. Do not scream teachers and policeman should pay their own health insurance. AND THEN !!!turn around and give free health insurance to every other Tom, Dick and Sally! These are not the working poor.

It is ok to ignore the bipolar adult who cannot hold a job or the young twenty something right out of college with no children.

This is not a helping hand . It is a blatant hand out to people earning a better thanaverage salary.

10:46 AM, October 08, 2007

Personally, I am not opposed to free vacinations for children from birth through school.
ONE: it would protect the popualtion.
Two: government might be able to save money buying in bulk.
Three: those with insurance who do not have coverage for wellness visits and shots would stay curent and protect the general population.
By the way that is not welfare. That is good health practices.

It is a proven fact that those on Medicaid have more expenses, doctor visits, and tests than the average population. In part it is the medical community trying for a fair wage. It is also waste

10:51 AM, October 08, 2007

Anonymous 12:17

You must not have listen to Corzine on the Meet the Press program yesterday. He admitted to Russert that over half of what NJ pays for the SCHIP program is paid out for adults. Look at your own charts and see who leads the nation and is giving high salaried people free health care insurance. Corzine has lots of budget problems and he has to find money wherever he can, even if he has to rip of the feds.

1:00 PM, October 08, 2007

SCHIP Veto Appropriate
SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program was intended to cover children in families who made too much to be eligible for Medicaid. It was to limit eligibility to families making not more than 200% of the poverty line ($40,300 for a family of four). The abuse began when seven states set eligibility above 200%, fourteen states extended coverage to parents, pregnant women, or childless adults, some states established income eligibility levels at $82,600 a year. Now, “Child” is age 25 or under. According to the Democrats' vision, those who are old enough to drive, vote, enter the military and drink alcohol are still children.

SCHIP costs will rise to $85 billion over five years. This will create a new dependency for more government-funded health insurance. There will be demands for added benefits and government-run healthcare will be a reality. Increased costs then increase the cost of private insurance, resulting in employers dropping their insurance benefits, forcing everyone into government healthcare.

SCHIP moves us to a government-run system, leading to poor quality, inefficiency, rising taxes and rationing. We will see waiting lines and poor care that cause people from other countries to come here for treatment. And it is not free. We all pay.

Americans want quality health care when and where they want it, at the best price possible. The marketplace is the only mechanism to achieve this. Government can help by expanding access to private individual health insurance. Government should increase tax deductions and tax credits for individual health insurance, allow tax free Health Savings Accounts to provide the means for millions of Americans to get into the private market and purchase the insurance that's best for them. Coverage, premiums, and provider payments should be worked out in the market place, not by bureaucrats.

Government can help by allowing for portability or healthcare. People should be able to take their health insurance with them when they change jobs. A job change should not require a family to change doctors.

Competition among insurers should be expanded and encouraged. People should have greater ability to purchase health insurance through companies based in other states. Small companies should be permitted to join risk pools. It would mean more competition and lower costs, and more people able to afford coverage.

Competition leads to more options and better quality. The best health reform proposals are those that recognize and build on the value of our market based system. People come to the US because they cannot get quality care in their home countries. Health care professionals come here to practice, leaving behind government run health care systems where bureaucrats make the decisions and patients have no choice.

Limiting the SCHIP program was appropriate. Hopefully its expansion and the accompanying universal healthcare proposals will fail as well.

10:39 AM, October 12, 2007

This is not an issue.
When bush is gone, the money that is being spent in Iraq will come home to fund health care for the young and the old. We will be one nation again. Caring social initiatives YES, cowboy diplomacy NO

10:54 PM, October 13, 2007