“The State Children’s Health Insurance Program sounds like the epitome of good government: Who could be against health care for children? The answer is anyone who worries about one more middle-class taxpayer entitlement and a further slide to a government takeover of health care. Yet Schip is sailing toward a major expansion with almost no media scrutiny, and with Republicans in Congress running for cover. Schip was enacted in 1997 to help insure children from working-poor families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid. In the intervening years, the program reduced the rate of uninsured kids by about 25%. [subscription required for full text] (07/30/07)