Thomas Daschle: “Officers and enlisted personnel are more likely than junior personnel to have coverage. Only 60 percent of junior…”

“Officers and enlisted personnel are more likely than junior personnel to have coverage. Only 60 percent of junior enlisted personnel, about 90 percent of whom are under age 35, had coverage. That means 40 percent of the junior personnel had no coverage at all. Of reservists and dependents, about 86 percent reported having coverage, but of reservists without dependents, only 63 percent reported having coverage. Again, about 40 percent have no coverage whatsoever. Again, this becomes a recruiting, a retention, and, I believe, a fairness question that I hope this Senate will address this year with this bill.”