Elizabeth Furse: “What we felt was that we needed a private-public partnership, that Government cannot do everything, private industry…”

“What we felt was that we needed a private-public partnership, that Government cannot do everything, private industry cannot do everything, but together we can attempt to reach those 10 million children. It is a disgrace, it is a disgrace that 10 million children have no health insurance. So our package says, reach out to the kids who are eligible for Medicaid, bring them in. Provide a plan that will increase the Medicaid opportunities, and then do some insurance reform, simple insurance reform that will say, insurance companies, you have to provide a kids-only policy, one that will not be denied to children. So if a family has no health insurance, maybe they are not eligible for Medicaid, but they cannot afford $400, $500 a month, there will be a policy available for them, a kids-only policy. Can it be done? Absolutely. In the State of Oregon we have a kids-only policy, $35 a month. I ask my colleagues to support this alternative because it reaches out to all the children.”