Michael Kopetski: “incredibly, there is a debate going on on whether to call the situation in health care today a crisis or just a problem.…”

“incredibly, there is a debate going on on whether to call the situation in health care today a crisis or just a problem. Get real. It is a crisis. The reason I think some people have a problem calling it a crisis is because there is not any big explosion. There is no earthquake. There is no flood going on. And others simply do not have the political will or fortitude to make some very tough political decisions for this country. In 1992, 17.4 percent of the nonelderly population, that is 38.5 million people, were without health care coverage. That is 2 million more than the year before. Congress is working to help find health care access for tens of thousands of people. We are also, yes, today going to deal with the earthquake problems in California, and rightly so. So if we can help people in California with the earthquake aftermath, why can we not help the tens of millions of Americans who face a loss of their savings and their homes because they do not have health care coverage and get sick. Our health care system quickly becomes a crisis for anybody without insurance and does get ill. The letters from my constituents say, ``I think everyone should have the same health insurance coverage that you have as a United States Representative.'' I agree. Let us provide for our people in this country what we provide for ourselves.”