[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 11, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H3169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H3169]]
                   NATIONAL COVER THE UNINSURED WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to 
the fact that last week was the third annual National Cover the 
Uninsured Week.
  The purpose of National Cover the Uninsured Week is to raise 
awareness of the problem of the uninsured and the need for reliable and 
affordable health care coverage. To this end, I shall briefly discuss 
the problem that we face as a Nation and call attention to some 
proposed movement towards solutions.
  The challenge that we face as a Nation is grave. According to the 
U.S. Census Bureau, 45 million Americans lack health coverage, a figure 
which includes 8 million children. In my home State of Illinois, 
1,800,000 individuals lacked health coverage in 2003. This problem is 
not merely one of numbers, statistics, charts and figures. It impacts 
real live people in every State in the Nation.
  Families forced to pay high medical bills out of pocket are the same 
families that default on loans, are unable to save for their children's 
education and are forced into bankruptcy. Children who lack coverage 
are children who are unable to get necessary preventative care or 
treatment. Additionally, the problem is the enormous burden on health 
care providers who sometimes must charge those who are covered more in 
order to care for those lacking coverage, as they are mandated to do in 
emergency situations. This situation only fuels the ever-increasing 
cost of health care in this country.
  Sadly, I know all too well that I have not just shed light on a 
previously unknown problem. My colleagues in the House have surely 
heard this many times before. However, all of our talk has yet to 
provide solutions.
  Fortunately, three bills have been introduced that will help to 
alleviate this grave and well-documented problem: the Medicare Early 
Access Act, the Family Care Act and the Small Business Health Insurance 
Promotion Act.
  Together, these bills will help to expand access to Medicare to 
younger workers, provide incentive to States to extend the State 
Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, to working parents and 
eligible children, and make it easier for small businesses to cover 
their employees. It is quite possible that enactment of these proposals 
would extend coverage to 20 million more Americans.
  While this is less than half of the total number of America's 
uninsured population, it is certainly a step in the right direction. 
After all, even a journey of 1,000 miles must begin with a single step. 
But the real deal is, Mr. Speaker, we need a national health plan, 
single payer, with everybody in, nobody out. Health care is indeed a 
right and not a privilege. Every American should have it.

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