The Democrats have hit on a scheme to introduce national health care by stealth--expand existing programs dramatically.

The SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) is a case in point--help for kids. Designed to help the poor pay insurance premiums to cover children, the Democrats have decided to vastly extend its reach to have the government "help" pay insurance premiums for the two-SUV family.

The whole "child" angle is just a gimmick of course--Democrats don't give a damn about children or they wouldn't be so anxious to abort them--no, this is an issue more dear to their hearts--the expansion of government and bureaucracy.

To dramatize the point, the Democrats exploit a child to give their Saturday radio address. Graeme Frost is a seventh grader and his parents, while not poor, make a pittance and are raising 4 children on it--they can't afford adequate health care for their children.

Boo hoo.

Also to dramatize the point, the Crats are lying and have been nailed by a Freeper with somewhat more curiosity that the incompetent mainstream media.

Graeme attends a private school requiring $20,000 in tuition per year. So does his sister. The nearly indigent Frost family spend nearly their entire income on private school tuition--or do they?

"Bonnie Frost works for a medical publishing firm; her husband, Halsey, is a woodworker. They are raising their four children on combined income of about $45,000 a year. Neither gets health insurance through work."

Hmmm..not so much.

What the article does not mention is that Halsey Frost has owned his own company "Frostworks",since this marriage announcement in the NY Times in 1992 so he chooses to not give himself insurance. He also employed his wife as "bookkeeper and operations management" prior to her recent 2007 hire at the "medical publishing firm". As her employer, he apparently denied her health insurance as well.

His company, Frostworks, is located at 3701 E BALTIMORE ST. A building that was purchased for $160,000 in 1999. The buildings owner is listed as DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIAL DESIGN CENTER, LLC whose mailing address is listed as 104 S Collington Ave which is the Frost's home. The commercial property he owns is also listed as the business address for another company called Reillys Designs which leads to the question of whether rental income is included in the above mentioned salary total

The current market value of their improved 3,040 SF home at 104 S Collington Ave is unknown but 113 S COLLINGTON AVE, also an end unit, sold for $485,000 this past March and it was only 2,060 SF. A photo taken in the family's kitchen shows what appears to be a recent remodeling job with granite counter tops and glass front cabinets

One has to wonder that if time and money can be found to remodel a home, send kids to exclusive private schools, purchase commercial property and run your own business... maybe money can be found for other things...maybe Dad should drop his woodworking hobby and get a real job that offers health insurance rather than making people like me (also with 4 kids in a 600sf smaller house and tuition $16,000 less per kid and no commercial property ownership) pay for it in my taxes.

A neighbor mine had her kitchen redone with granite counters--$15,000.00

Mark Steyn quotes Insureblog for the scoop on what health insurance would really cost the Frosts.

A check of a quote engine for zip code 21250 (Baltimore) finds a plan for $641 with a $0 deductible and $20 doc copays.

Adding a deductible of $750 (does not apply to doc visits) drops the premium to $452. That's almost a third of the price quoted in the article. Doesn't anyone bother to check the facts?

Granite counter tops or 2 years of health insurance premiums?

You can learn a lot from this little deception. Most importantly? The rich don't pay--you pay.