Lisa Murkowski: “the rising number of Americans without health insurance is a problem that is recognized by all Members of this body.…”

“the rising number of Americans without health insurance is a problem that is recognized by all Members of this body. There are some 46.6 million Americans today who are not receiving proper medical care. Compounding the problem is the reality that, as my colleague from Oregon--Senator Wyden--likes to say, we do not have a health care system in this country; we have a sick care system. As we look at the growing cost to our economy that health care represents, the number one thing we can do today to reduce that cost is preventative medicine--making sure that Americans can access health care today, so that they are not sick tomorrow. The Children's Health Insurance Program is an important means to provide the most vulnerable of our population--our children--with health care. And we all know that when our children are sick, it is not just the child that is impacted but the parents as well; missing time at work to care for their child or catching the latest bug their child brings home from the daycare center. The social and economic impact of a sick child goes well beyond the need for cough syrup or a band-aid. And the impact is even greater in our Native communities.”