Food Insurance
More kids have it than are enrolled in SCHIP:
[T]he number of Americans on food stamps…is at a record high. In 2011, more than 46 million Americans—about one in seven—received food stamps… Nationally, one out of four school children received a free lunch in 1970, according to the state and federal government data examined by Mr. Nichols. Today, two out of three lunches served in schools are free or nearly free.
Food is cheap. All but the poorest families can easily obtain enough food to sustain life. Hunger is not a problem in America; it is a symptom. Hunger is a symptom of: 1) addiction and substance abuse; 2) disability and senility; and 3) child neglect. The poor are afflicted with obesity at rates far greater than they are with hunger.
It’s esier to enroll in the Food Stamp program than it is to enroll in Medicaid or CHIP.
And yet I have never – ever – heard a Republican or Democratic politician propose that we could reduce the cost of this program by having Congress (or state legislatures) impose an “individual mandate” or “employer mandate” to ensure that everyone bought enough food.
I suppose that they would enforce it by having everyone submit to the USDA – either directly or via our employers – his annual grocery and restaurant bills. Then we could eliminate the free riders!
Doesn’t it sound ridiculous? And yet it still has a hint of respectablity whe ascribed to health care.
Nevertheless, one thing that is significantly superior about food stamps is that the government does not contract with providers. The beneficiary controls where and how the money is spent. Yes, there is a secondary market where the cards trade at a discount, but this would be less likely to happen for health care (although it’s not at all clear, upon reflection, that the secondary market is a bad thing).