Betsy Markey: “As working class families struggle to make ends meet in these tough economic times, we have the opportunity to ease…”

“As working class families struggle to make ends meet in these tough economic times, we have the opportunity to ease their burden by providing health care for 11 million children. Currently, more than 1 out of 8 children in Colorado lacks health insurance because they can't afford it. As the mother of three, I understand the burden of caring for sick children and the relief of being able to take my children to the doctor without worrying about costs. We need to expand access to children's health care, and make sure that every child has the ability to go to the doctor and receive treatment. This is not just the right thing to do; it makes fiscal sense to give children preventive health care. In my state of Colorado, we had 84,649 children enrolled in SCHIP in 2007. This legislation would preserve coverage for them, and extend it to thousands more children in the state.”