[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]

 
                     HEALTH CARE REFORM FOR AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, before I make the comments that I was 
going to this evening, I would like to make a couple of comments about 
my colleague who just spoke before I came up to the well.
  I agree with my colleague that the United States has the best health 
care in the world. It is the reason why so many people come from all 
over the world to avail themselves of the medical care that we have 
here.
  I further agree that the issue is cost, and that in fact, while we 
have the best medical care in the world, many people today in this 
Nation cannot avail themselves of that health care because of the cost 
of that health care.
  I further agree that what we need to do is to address this issue of 
cost, and in fact the Gephardt plan does that very, very well, and 
helps to look at bringing that cost down by making sure that all 
Americans are covered, that all Americans have private, guaranteed 
health insurance that is affordable and that can never be taken away 
from them.
  Part of the Gephardt plan is to make sure that, because all are 
covered, and we have what is known in this effort as cost shifting, 
that someone else pays the bill for those who are not now covered, and 
most of those folks who are now not covered are working Americans, 
working, and in my State of Connecticut they work in small businesses 
of less than 25 people and do not have insurance coverage.
  If we were able to cover all of those people through the shared 
responsibility, as our current system is today, where the employer pays 
a portion, the employee pays a portion, 9 out of 10 people who are 
insured today in this Nation receive their health care coverage through 
their place of employment. The Gephardt plan builds on that system, and 
says that employers and employees who are now not participating in this 
shared responsibility need to do that, in fact, to help pay for the 
cost of health care which today, while they are not paying for it, 
everyone else is paying for them.
  Madam Speaker, I want to agree with my colleague on some of these 
issues, and say that the way in which we can correct this is a piece of 
legislation that the majority leader of this House, the gentleman from 
Missouri, Dick Gephardt, has put together, and that we ought to come 
together and support that for the American public.
  Madam Speaker, let me move on to the issue that I wanted to discuss 
today, that has, again, to do with health care.
  Madam Speaker, 2 days ago, the other body took the first step in 
moving the health care reform process forward by adopting an amendment 
which would make sure that insurance policies offer prenatal care for 
women and well-baby and immunization services for children. I applaud 
my colleague from Connecticut, Senator Dodd, for his sponsorship of 
that action, and am proud to be joined by several of my colleagues here 
tonight who support comprehensive health care reform that includes 
guaranteed coverage for children and pregnant women.
  In a country as wealthy as ours, with the world's best health care 
system, it is disgraceful that 17 million American children are 
uninsured for all or part of the year. In my home State of Connecticut 
alone, more than 40,000 children are uninsured, 8,000 in my district. 
During some of the most critical years of a child's development, 
between birth and their sixth birthday, one out of 10 American children 
is uninsured.
  Of the children that do have health insurance, many are woefully 
underinsured. Only 42 percent are covered for routine immunizations. 
Only one-third of health insurance policies provided in medium and 
large firms cover well-baby care. Millions of children have private 
insurance that fails to cover preventive services. Millions of children 
have private insurance that fails to cover special treatment for those 
with physical and emotional disabilities.
  Who are these children left out in the cold by our current health 
care system? The significant majority of them, 58 percent, are 
dependents of parents who work full-time, every day of the year. 
According to the Children's Defense Fund, for two decades, employer 
cost-cutting and the rising cost of health insurance have forced 
millions of children out of the private health insurance system. Had 
coverage for children stayed at even the 1987 rates, an additional 3 
million children would have had employer-based insurance in 1992.
  And if we do nothing to make sure that every working parent receives 
health insurance through his or her workplace, this trend will only get 
worse. By the year 2000, only 50 percent of our children will receive 
health care through insurance provided by employers.
  These figures speak for themselves and should be enough to spur 
Congress to act. But if all these statistics leave any of our 
colleagues in doubt, then let them listen to what the children 
themselves are telling us.
  Ian Cook, a 12-year-old boy from Lake Charles, LA, has told us that 
his mother's health insurance doesn't cover all the costs of the liver 
screenings he needs every 3 months and his medicine--without which he 
cannot attend school--that costs $173 per month.

  Jennifer Bush, a 7-year-old girl from Coral Springs, FL, lost her 
hearing in one ear due to chronic infections. Her insurance company 
dropped her because her medical bills exceeded $2 million.
  And Asha Thune, an 11-year-old girl from Austin, TX, has juvenile 
diabetes. Her family is afraid they may lose their insurance as a 
result.
  Madam Speaker, now is the time to correct this intolerable situation. 
We have made great strides recently in this House to invest more in our 
children. We have increased funding for Head Start. We have increased 
funding for WIC. And we are on the verge of enacting a crime bill that 
will help make our streets safer for our children.
  Now let us give our children proper health care--perhaps the most 
important thing they need to ensure that they grow up healthy and able 
to learn. Let us give their parents the peace of mind that if their 
children do get sick they will be taken care of and that their 
insurance won't be taken away. Let us pass the Gephardt bill which 
guarantees that every child will get newborn and well-baby services and 
that every woman will get pre-natal care, all with no cost sharing. We 
have given enough speeches about out support for children--let us stand 
and deliver.

                          ____________________