Chris Murphy: “Thank you, Representative Schwartz. I am thrilled to be here with Representative Pallone and Representative Allen, who…”

“Thank you, Representative Schwartz. I am thrilled to be here with Representative Pallone and Representative Allen, who have been advocating for this issue and many other issues regarding health care equity for a very long time. I come from the State of Connecticut, where I served, as you mentioned, Representative Schwartz, in the State legislature for about 8 years, and I chaired the Health Committee there for the last 4 years. And what we figured out was what Pennsylvania figured out a little bit before us and what dozens of other State legislatures figured out over the past few years, which is that by expanding our SCHIP program, and we have got a cute name for that program in Connecticut, where we call it the Husky program after the mascot of our University of Connecticut sports teams, we figured out over time that not only was expanding children's health care, and we actually make some adults, some of their parents, eligible for that benefit as well, that not only was it the right thing to do because, as you said and you are exactly right, in the high cost of living in a State of Connecticut, $40,000 doesn't go very far, and at a time we live in today where wages are remaining pretty much stagnant and flat, and when we celebrate a year in which the average health care premium increase stays at around 10 or 11 or 12 percent, you simply can't do much with an income hovering around $40,000, $45,000 or $50,000. In Connecticut certainly that becomes a problem.”