free brass monkies

If you are actually poor [as opposed to LMC] and have hypertension/diabetes/lung cancer/whatever you are covered by Medicaid and pay nothing. We, the rest of the taxpaying citizens, already pay for it.

And it many states it is very, Very good, in fact, in NYS it covers virtually *everything* you can imagine, and is better than the best gold-plated insurance a high/mid-level professional you would get at a F500 firm.

Due to this extensive coverage, NYS has higher Medicare costs than California plus Texas combined.

I'll allow others to elaborate why this is not sustainable.

I dont get one thing here...

It OBVIOUSLY IS A RIGHT to minors in our society(sCHIP/MEDICAID) and has been for some time.

All im asking is what magically changes at age 18 that means it stops being a right?

And please...dont play the "you can getz the job" card...look at most kids prospects at 1 even with a good HS record. The chances of getting a job where they can #1 support themselves indefinitely as independants and #2 gain comprehensive healthcare is fairly poor.

Most really young(18-22 and not in college) guys I know settle for one(waitering / part time stuff) or another (low wage with healthcare...but live at home).

If 18 was the age bc it was presumed you COULD support yourself reasonably in 1940 at that age..should we not bump it up to 23 or something now given the new realities of the labor market which everyone admits means most of the population will need a bachelor's degree to stay stable.

And then what of educational rights?

You're confusing, "people are willing to make economic sacrifices because they realize that children have no means of acquiring their own health care and shouldn't be punished because their parents suck" as "we agree children have a right to health care." It's logically impossible for a service to be a right. It infringes on the person needed to provide the service's right to do whatever the **** they want.

What most people mean when they say X is a right is "I really want it bad."