JOHN LINDER: “when SCHIP first passed about a dozen years ago, Georgia's program was called Peach Care. It was open to large numbers…”

“when SCHIP first passed about a dozen years ago, Georgia's program was called Peach Care. It was open to large numbers of people, and millions signed up, many of whom came off private health insurance to do so. A friend of mine, who made $150,000 a year, signed up too. She never used it. But you could sign up by the Internet. Some of that's been tightened up, but this bill opens that back up again. You're eligible by just stating your Social Security Number, no need to prove who you are. The 5-year waiting period that's always been in place for legal immigrants who come here sponsored, is erased. And we all know that sooner or later we're going to have an amnesty for those 20 million illegals, and that will dwarf this system. I was in dental school in 1936 when Lyndon Johnson delivered the great society speech; and he said, using easily quantifiable user statistics, we know that by 1990, Medicare will cost $9 billion, and Medicaid will cost $1 billion. He was wrong. And this will be abused also.”