[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 117 (Thursday, August 18, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 18, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1830
 
              THE GUARANTEED HEALTH INSURANCE ACT OF 1994

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Thurman). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I'm proud to have this opportunity to 
speak on behalf of the health reform legislation submitted by the 
majority leader--and its vital importance to the Nation's children. We 
owe Mr. Gephardt a great debt for his leadership in bringing this bill 
before the House.
  We are at a critical turning point. We can choose to continue down 
the same path we've been on: More Americans will lost their health 
insurance. Health care costs will escalate. Health programs for 
children, the elderly, and the poor will be cut back more and more. And 
providers will continue to shift their losses from caring for uninsured 
and vulnerable people onto their private patients and their employers.
  That is basically the direction the Republican and bipartisan 
proposals will take us.
  Or, we can decide to end our national embarrassment and guarantee 
every American coverage for basic health care. That's the path the 
majority leader believes the country should take, and I vigorously 
agree with him.
  This is a particularly important point for the Nation's families and 
for the Nation's children. Almost 39 million Americans are uninsured. 
Eight million of them are children.
  Think of that--in a country as rich as ours, 8 million children 
without insurance. And most of them are the children of working 
parents, because the sad fact is that most Americans who are uninsured 
work.
  The Gephardt bill has put together a basic benefits package for all 
children, services that every child in America should be guaranteed to 
ensure their best chance at a healthy future: prenatal care, well-baby 
care, immunizations, lead screening, infectious disease screening, and 
the regular checkups that are needed for every growing child.
  And, in addition to this package of screening and preventive 
services, the Gephardt bill also provides ongoing coverage and special 
services for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
  Earlier this year, the Cacho family from Berkeley, CA--Ann and 
Bernard and their 8-year-old son Philip with cerebral palsy--testified 
before my subcommittee.
  Their struggles to get real health care to raise their son at home 
with dignity are unforgettable. They told of not only fighting the 
disease that was disabling their child but also fighting the very 
system that was supposed to help them. They told of insurance premiums 
that rose from $3,000 a year to over $10,000. They described the 
limitations of the insurance that they could buy even at that price. 
And they told of the ongoing effort to get their child the care that 
everyone agreed that he needs.
  Their testimony was compelling. Everyone who attended the hearing was 
moved by their story. I told them we would work to make their future 
secure. Mr. Gephardt has put together a bill that does that for the 
Cacho's and for all American children and their families, both those 
with special needs and disabilities and those who simply need the 
routine care that all children deserve.
  The Gephardt bill assures that most Americans who now have insurance 
coverage through their jobs will be able to keep that coverage. Health 
insurance paid for by employer and worker contributions is the way most 
Americans get coverage today, and the Gephardt bill builds on these 
arrangements. That's the most practical and direct way to achieve 
universal coverage. And we owe our children that coverage.
  In closing, I just want to ask the opponents of the Gephardt bill to 
answer one question for me. As you argue for incremental approaches, as 
you settle for less than universal coverage, as you plan to go slower 
and slower--
  Which children do you want to leave uncovered?
  Which of the newborns do you want to leave without screening?
  Which of the children with cerebral palsy do you want to leave 
without home care?
  Which of the next generation do not deserve our help?
  The only honest answer to that question from any Member of Congress 
should be none ``None.'' And the only real way to reach that goal is 
the Gephardt bill.
  I thank my colleagues.

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