Stephanie Tubbs Jones: “Today 50 million Americans have no health insurance, including more than 8 million children. Eight out of 10 uninsured…”

“Today 50 million Americans have no health insurance, including more than 8 million children. Eight out of 10 uninsured Americans either work or are in working families. Sadly, many of those uninsured and underinsured are African American. Being uninsured means going without needed care. It means minor illnesses become major ones because care is delayed. Tragically, it means that one significant medical expense can wipe out a family's life savings. There are millions of working uninsured Americans who go to bed every night worrying about what will happen to them and their families if a major illness or injury strikes. In my home State of Ohio, there are currently 1,362,000 uninsured, an increase of 18,000 people since 2003. We have also seen the strain on many of the local hospitals in my district when people are forced to use emergency rooms as their source of primary care. The problem is getting worse. As the price of health care continues to rise, fewer individuals and families can afford to pay for coverage. Fewer small businesses are able to provide coverage for their employees, and those that do are struggling to hold on to the coverage they offer. It is a problem that affects all of us, and we cannot sit idly by while the people of this country continue to go without health insurance.”