HOW WELL-OFF does a family have to be before Democrats will stop throwing government subsidies at them? That's the question to ask when considering the complaints that new federal regulations will prevent New Hampshire from offering subsidized health insurance to as many middle-class families as it can do now.
The new rules would require the state to provide subsidized insurance through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to 95 percent of eligible children in families that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level before enrolling additional children in families that earn more than 250 percent of the federal poverty level. That's right, liberals are complaining about being required to help poorer kids before financially better-off kids. For a family of four, 200 percent of the poverty level equals $41,300 a year, and 250 percent equals $51,625.
This summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to expand SCHIP to cover "children" up to age 20 and families earning up to $82,600. And that's only because the Democratic leadership in the House thought it couldn't get away with broadening the subsidies even further.
