Healthy Montana Kids

It is election time again and I have been hearing allot of political rhetoric about the dirty low-downs that supposedly voted against the kids that need healthcare because they didn’t support this vote or that vote. Everyone wants to know that the children of Montana are being taken care of and we would agree that someone that voted to deny a poor child healthcare would be a despicable individual indeed.

I ran across a brochure for the “Healthy Montana Kids” (HMK) which is what we are calling the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) these days. What I found interesting was that a family with 4 children (Ma – Pa – and 4 kids) can actually earn close to $74,000 and still receive coverage. If these same families pay for daycare this can be used add to the income requirements.

HMK says health care coverage through their program is either free or if there is any co-pay it will be limited to $215 per year per family.

Personally I think that a family earning in excess of $74,000 (or $92,525 with 6 kids) could most likely afford to pay a wee bit more than the co-pay requirement of $215 per year. Don’t get me wrong, kids should never be denied healthcare but there needs to be some hope of personal responsibility from those parents that use this program to take care of their kids when they can afford to pay for a portion themselves.

So was a vote against expanding the income thresholds and saving a few shekels for Montana taxpayers really a vote “against the children” or was it a vote for fiscal restraint and personal responsibility?  Is all this just another opportunity for warring candidates to throw barbs at each other?