Experts say the push to cut federal funding for programs that provide health coverage to children speaks to the lack of youth protections in the US
Children’s right to healthcare is not protected in the US. A fact experts say is apparent in the federal budget currently under debate, which would see significant cuts to programs that help low income children afford food and healthcare, like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).
“There’s no right to these programs,” said Jonathan Todres, a leading expert on children’s rights and law professor at Georgia State University College of Law. “Medicaid, Chip, those all support millions of children, but they don’t establish a right. So at any time the government can choose to cut these programs.”
Medicaid and Chip provide health coverage to two in five US children, while Snap provides meals to one in five. The current budget would cut $863.4bn from Medicaid and Chip, and $300bn from Snap, over the next decade. Although children under the age of 18 make up about 22% of the US population, Todres notes that spending on youth only amounts to about 10% of the federal budget.
So at any time
the governmentconservatives can choose to cut these programs.”ftfy
theres only one party who lacks empathy to the point of hurting children, and its republicans… you know, the ‘pro life’ party.
Yeah, in the case of stuff like this the usual failing of the Democrats is limiting these programs too much. Usually born of their pathological need to seem “fiscally responsible” to so-called “moderate” voters. Things like allowing the child tax credit expansion to end with no fight, or means-testing programs to the point of absurdity. They’d rather deny assistance to 10 people who need it than let a single person benefit from assistance they think doesn’t “deserve” it enough.
Generally speaking, for Republicans the cruelty is the point. Whereas for Democrats the cruelty is a byproduct that they lack the imagination to realize doesn’t need to exist.
Contrast to Argentina where healthcare is declared a human right in the constitution.
