Frank Pallone: “over the last couple of years congressional Democrats have been focusing their attention on addressing some of the most…”

“over the last couple of years congressional Democrats have been focusing their attention on addressing some of the most important health care challenges facing this country. Last year Congress took a small but important step in the right direction when it passed the Kennedy-Kassebaum health insurance reform bill. Because of that bill, citizens who change jobs will continue to receive health coverage, insurance companies may no longer deny individuals health coverage when they switch jobs due to preexisting medical conditions. Although congressional Democrats were happy to see Republicans join us in passing this important piece of legislation, we did emphasize at the time of the bill's passage that we believed much more needed to be done. And as a result of this belief and as a result of the GOP's refusal to consider any other health issue other than portability, Democrats immediately set about to build on the momentum the passage of the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill created by pushing for legislation that would make health care available to every child in this country. There are now about 10 million uninsured children in the United States. To combat this problem, Democrats incorporated a children's- only health care plan into their family-first agenda.”