Political Quotes

“I rise today on tax day to introduce a new legislative proposal to help small businesses afford quality health insurance for their low-income workers. The number of uninsured is at an all-time high. More than 43 million people, including 11 million children, lack health insurance coverage. Workers in small firms are significantly more likely to be uninsured than workers in larger firms. Nationally, 34 percent of workers in small businesses with less than 10 employees are uninsured. This compares to the national average for all workers which is 18.2 percent. In Illinois, 183,781 workers in a small business in 1997 went without health insurance. For low-income workers the situation was even worse. Nationally, 41.3 percent of workers earning less than $16,000 were uninsured. Again in Illinois, 112,770 working for less than $16,000 in small businesses were uninsured. This situation is deteriorating. Recent studies show that the number of small businesses offering health insurance has been declining.”