[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 25 (Monday, March 3, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARE

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                          HON. THOMAS H. ALLEN

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 3, 1997

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the Democratic leadership's 
proposal to add children's health care to the priorities we address 
this session.
  Today more than 10 million American children have no health insurance 
coverage.
  On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that over the past 5 years 
the number of children without insurance has risen twice as fast as the 
number of adults.
  Most of these are the children of working families earning between 
$15,000 and $45,000 per year.
  In my State, the Maine Health Care Commission estimated that in 1996, 
36,000 Maine children had no health insurance coverage.
  Ninety-one percent of Maine's uninsured children live in families 
with at least one working parent.
  Ten million American children relying on emergency room treatment 
instead of a family doctor is wrong--and expensive.
  We can and must do better.
  This Congress should encourage kids only insurance policies and 
expand basic Medicaid coverage to uninsured children.

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