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By Dolores Huerta
Special to the Mercury News
Posted: 07/30/2009
As an activist who has spent much of my life fighting for the rights of workers
to support their families, I know that affordable health coverage is central to
working families' ability to weather the current economic storm. Californians
need national health care reform now more than ever.
Budget cuts made by the Legislature coupled with Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's line-item vetoes will result in more than 900,000 children
being denied health coverage throughout the state; that is nearly the
equivalent of every single kindergartner and first-grader attending public
school in California. With the governor's
signature, we are experiencing the largest reduction of health coverage for
children in our nation's history. Families who are already struggling to make
ends meet will be forced to choose between paying the rent and taking their
children to the doctor — a choice no parent should have to make.
When children go without the health care they need to grow
up healthy and succeed in school, it not only hurts them individually but also
compromises the strength of our nation's economy. Uninsured children miss more
school than insured children, and they are more likely to fall behind in their
classes and require their parents to stay home from work to care for them.
Unfortunately, as members of Congress draft legislation to reform our nation's
health care system, they are not prioritizing the health and well-being of
infants and children. In fact, some versions of the legislation could actually
leave millions of children worse off than they are now. I strongly support
achieving national health reform this year and applaud many of the critical
policies that will extend new health coverage and new protections to millions
in the United States.
But legislation that fails to meet the needs of children falls short of real
reform.
Real health reform must be affordable for working families.
Such reform will allow families to keep more of their money to spend on other
basic needs, further stimulating the economy.
Real health reform must provide a comprehensive benefit
package for children. Every child in America should have access to any
and all medically necessary services.
Real health reform must make enrolling children in health
coverage and keeping them enrolled simple. No child should be denied coverage
because of burdensome application requirements and paperwork. The vast majority
of uninsured children, including nearly 400,000 here in California,
are actually eligible for current health care programs but not enrolled. If
national health reform fails to address this problem, then it will fail
millions of uninsured children and their families.
I call on California's
congressional delegation to ensure all children can easily enroll and stay
enrolled in comprehensive, affordable, seamless health coverage as they lead
the national health reform effort. I call on President Barack Obama to demand
that national health reform legislation meet the needs of our nation's children
and families, and prepare America's
next generation to compete in the global economy.
Every step we take to improve the lives of children will
improve the lives of all of us. The time has come for Congress to act in the
spirit of the old farm workers' call, "Si, se puede" or as Obama
translates it, "Yes, we can!"
Dolores Huerta is a national leader on civil and workers" rights and is
the co-founder, with Cesar Chavez, of the National Farm Workers Association.
She wrote this article for the Mercury News.
Click here for original version of this article
Source: Mercury News
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