Herb Kohl: “I rise to talk about putting our country on a path to insuring all of its children. For the past decade, the Children's…”

“I rise to talk about putting our country on a path to insuring all of its children. For the past decade, the Children's Health Insurance Program--CHIP--has given kids in working families the doctor's visits and medicines they need when they are sick, and the checkups they need to stay well. Skyrocketing health care costs combined with a decline in employer-sponsored health insurance means that thousands of kids and families would go without basic medical care if CHIP did not fill the need. There are now more than 46 million uninsured Americans--9 million are children. This is simply unacceptable--every child needs health insurance. Without health insurance, many families must forgo routine checkups, crossing their fingers that their children will stay healthy. If their son or daughter becomes ill, they wait to see if the symptoms go away. But delay can be tragic. If those symptoms linger or get worse, parents are forced to take their kids to the emergency room for help. When a common cold turns into pneumonia, what would have been a simple, cheap fix if caught early, mushrooms into a complicated, lengthy and expensive treatment. Wisconsin's CHIP program, called BadgerCare, serves 67,000 working families and makes all the difference in a child's future. BadgerCare kids are healthier and more likely to succeed in school--including increased school attendance and a greater ability to pay attention in class.”