A couple of weeks ago, New York Gov. Spitzer got himself into a high dudgeon about President Bush's new rule requiring states to enroll 95 percent of kids in families below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) in state children's health insurance plans (SCHIP) before signing up those in higher-income families.  According the governor, this rule would prevent the Empire State from enrolling 70,000 young knickerbockers that he hoped to rope into SCHIP.

Reflecting wistfully on his salad days as a crusading prosecutor, Gov. Spitzer today announced a multi-state lawsuit against George W. Bush, in anticipation of the President's veto of reckless SCHIP expansion legislation.

So, what does Gov. Spitzer plan to do with $360 million of his own state's money? Shut down 23 hospitals and seven nursing homes, the oversupply of which was blamed for rising health costs in a 2006 report commissioned by former Gov. Pataki.

Let's do the math: $360 million divided by 70,000 uninsured kids equals over $5,000 per kid.

And Gov. Spitzer claims he can't provide health insurance to New York's kids without raiding the federal treasury?

Furthermore, states where central planners limit the supply of hospital beds do not save health costs (as discussed in a chapter by Roy Cordato in a 2006 book I edited).  Like any Soviet-style economy, health care in New York is absurd and cruel.  Indeed, New Yorkers suffer the least health ownership of all 50 states, according to the U.S. Index of Health Ownership.

New York's health care problem is too much government, not too many hospitals.