[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 23 (Wednesday, March 6, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E274-E275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RESCUE THE UNINSURED FROM SEA OF UNCERTAINTY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 5, 2002

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, the growing epidemic of the uninsured 
threatens both the social fabric and the economic stability of our 
nation. If Congress fails to act, soon millions

[[Page E275]]

more Americans will be denied their basic right to health care. The 
Catholic Health Association represents facilities across this country 
that provide a safety net for uninsured and underinsured citizens in 
need of medical care. Led by the Reverend Michael D. Place, its 
president and chief executive officer, CHA is working actively to 
increase awareness of this crisis. I urge all my colleagues to heed 
their timely call to action.

                [From the Baltimore Sun, Feb. 19, 2002]

              Rescue the Uninsured From Sea of Uncertainty

                         (By Michael D. Place)

       Washington.--In Manchester, N.H., a 6-year-old girl arrives 
     at Catholic Medical Center unable to eat for several days 
     because of medical complications from dental pain.
       Why the wait? The little girl's family did not have health 
     insurance.
       This child, and so many others across the country, 
     represent the crisis of vulnerability endured by 38 million 
     Americans without any health insurance.
       While the girl in Manchester was fortunate enough to live 
     in proximity to a Catholic health facility with high quality 
     emergency care, there are 22 million Americans who live in 
     rural areas that the federal government calls ``health 
     profession shortage areas.''
       Many of these citizens are without health insurance and 
     without access to medical care of any kind. They are at the 
     apex of this health care crisis of vulnerability.
       As we struggle to cope with burgeoning numbers of uninsured 
     across the country, rural areas highlight a disturbing trend 
     of funding ``drift''--a drift away from subsidized health 
     care coverage for the poor, the unemployed and the disabled.
       Rural hospitals were hit hard by the Balanced Budget Act of 
     1997. It has been estimated that of the $118 billion that the 
     law directed to be cut over five years, $16.8 billion was cut 
     from Medicare funds intended for rural areas. Legislation in 
     the past two years has restored only about $3.8 billion of 
     this money.
       For skeptics who believe that rural health care may not be 
     as vital as has been reported, a quick look at a sample 
     state's mortality statistics may be convincing.
       In Illinois, rural death rates from all causes from 1992 to 
     1996 were 1,106.7 deaths for every 100,000 people. This 
     figure compares with 853.8 deaths in Illinois' urban areas.
       Sadly, the rural patient base tends to be older, poorer and 
     less medically privileged. For such patients, the small rural 
     hospital is indeed a lifeline in need of preservation.
       Whether in rural or urban areas, our cities have no 
     shortage of uninsured and desperate families. In Des Moines, 
     Iowa, a single Catholic hospital--Mercy Medical Center--
     operates a free clinic through its House of Mercy program. 
     More than 600 people a month come in without insurance, many 
     with acute illness.
       In the South Bronx, the Dominican Sisters Family Health 
     Services is a safety net provider in what has been designated 
     the nation's poorest congressional district. Hospital 
     admission rates in that community for children with asthma 
     and pneumonia--conditions that can be prevented with adequate 
     primary care--are five to seven times the rates in more 
     affluent areas of New York City.
       Emergency access to basic health care is a stopgap. The 
     emergency room or free clinic is not a substitute for health 
     insurance coverage for access to the same health-care 
     services enjoyed by the more privileged in our society.
       And such access is critical not only to ensuring quality of 
     life but also term of life. The heart or cancer patient, 
     treated early and with our best tools, can be offered a much 
     different prospect than the critical care patient who arrives 
     without benefit of early therapy.
       During this congressional legislative session, it is 
     increasingly important that we tackle the health care needs 
     of our nation's uninsured. When Congress failed to adopt an 
     economic stimulus package in February, the growing numbers of 
     the recently unemployed and uninsured were dealt a dose of 
     legislative paralysis.
       Added to the diminishing set-asides for the ``permanent'' 
     uninsured, the health care outlook for our nation's poor, 
     uninsured, and under-served population is truly bleak.
       We must and can do better.
       American society must ensure that each person has access to 
     affordable health care. At a crossroads moment, let us engage 
     in a new national conversation on systemic health care 
     reform, a dialogue from Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.
       It is time for our nation's public and private leadership, 
     health care providers and faith-based groups to come together 
     and to join all Americans in a search for real and meaningful 
     solutions to this health care challenge.

     

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