John Garamendi: “Forty-five thousand Americans die each year because they are uninsured. They lack health insurance. Forty-five thousand.…”

“Forty-five thousand Americans die each year because they are uninsured. They lack health insurance. Forty-five thousand. That's about twice the number that are found in any of the arenas today as March Madness continues. Forty-five thousand. But that's not the end of it. So we start with 45,000 Americans. What about the rest of the Americans? We rank 19th among the industrialized nations of the world in the health of our citizenry. Our children die earlier. All Americans die earlier than the other 18 industrialized countries. The rate of increase in the health care market for the individual market in California and in many other States was nearly a hundred percent within a 1-year period. Some 50 percent last year and a similar amount this year, an unaffordable rate increase.”