Advocates of politicized medicine (i.e., taxpayer paid and government run programs) are targeting "cover all kids" campaigns. Children, most of whom have not yet lived long enough to develop chronic diseases, are relatively cheap to tuck into insurance programs. They also serve as a wedge for later expansion of public programs.

One of the latest advances in "cover all kids" came in Oregon. Last week, a legislative committee took action to refer a proposal to voters in the fall, as a constitutional amendment.

The reason? Gain a parliamentary advantage.

Democratic proponents have all but given up hope of winning enough Republican votes in the Legislature to pass a tobacco tax increase to pay for expansion of state-subsidized health insurance for children.

So the Senate Rules Committee approved a resolution Tuesday to make the governor's Healthy Kids Plan -- and the tobacco tax to pay for it -- part of a constitutional amendment that would go before voters in November. The resolution must clear the Senate Revenue Committee before reaching the Senate floor.

Proponents framed the measure as a constitutional amendment because referring it to the ballot that way would require a simple majority, instead of the three-fifths majority required to pass or refer measures that include a tax increase.

The plan is fairly ambitious, requiring a tax increase on cigarettes (84.5 cents per pack) to pay for state-subsidized insurance. Families of four with an income of up to $62,000 -- three times the federal poverty level--would be eligible.

Recently, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs published a brief critique of cover all kids. (Scroll down to "'All Kids' is All Wrong.") Among the points that the group makes: expansion is fueled by the enticement of federal matching funds, it encourages businesses to drop coverage, and it diverts funds away from Medicaid's original purpose of providing assistance to the poorest of the poor.