[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 46 (Friday, March 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E551]]
                IN HONOR OF ``COVER THE UNINSURED WEEK''

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                               speech of

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2003

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to offer my 
comments on an important issue: Access to affordable healthcare for all 
Americans.
  This week has been designated as ``Cover the Uninsured Week.'' Three 
health foundations, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California 
Endowment, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation sponsor ``Cover the 
Uninsured Week.'' A large number of national organizations have worked 
for the past three years to educate the public and national leaders 
about the uninsured. These organizations include: the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce, AFL-CIO Service Employees International Union, and Blue Cross 
and Blue Shield Association. I would like to submit a full list of 
these organizations for the Record.
  Over 41 million Americans do not have health insurance. For a Nation 
that considers itself a superpower, and a beacon of democracy for the 
rest of the world, there is no reason for almost eight out of every ten 
Americans who are working families to be without healthcare coverage.
  In my home State of California, 6.2 million State residents were 
uninsured for all or part of 2001 and Californians accounted for 16 
percent of the Nation's uninsured.
  According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, between 2000 and 2001, the 
number of the uninsured increased by 1.4 million, and low income 
Americans (those who earn less than 200 percent of the Federal poverty 
level) run the highest risk of being uninsured.
  For this reason, I introduced H.R. 1143, legislation that would amend 
Title XIX of the Social Security Act (SSA) to permit States to expand 
Medicaid eligibility to uninsured poor adults.
  The eligibility is expanded through the creation of a new optional 
Medicaid eligibility group for individuals between the ages of 21 and 
65 whose family income does not exceed a State-specified percentage of 
up to 200 percent of the applicable poverty line.
  In this time of economic uncertainty, it is imperative that we, as 
legislators, ensure the health of all Americans. The ability to seek 
healthcare due to an illness or an injury should not, and cannot be 
dependent on where one fits on a relative scale of income.
  Instead, the working poor should be confident that unfortunate 
incidents would not affect their ability to provide for their families 
while medical bills pile up.
  Swift passage of my legislation will restore many Americans' faith in 
our fiscal policies designed to protect the health and welfare of 
citizens left vulnerable by the lack of Federal health care assistance 
available to them.
  Mr. Chairman, there is indeed a health care crisis in the Nation, and 
while there is no simple solution, I urge all of my colleagues to take 
a moment to reflect on the state of the uninsured in this Nation, and 
support my legislation.

    List of Organizations Participating in Cover the Uninsured Week

       U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, The Business Roundtable, 
     Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Leadership 
     Council, AFSCME, American Medical Association, American 
     Nurses Association, Health Insurance Association of America, 
     Families USA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, 
     American Hospital Association, Federation of American 
     Hospitals, Catholic Health Association of the United States, 
     AARP and United Way of America.

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