Our Future Workforce Needs Health Insurance

Floor Speech

Our Future Workforce Needs Health Insurance

Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to pass comprehensive health reform, not this decade, not next year but this year.

Our constituents need help now. My constituents have told me that health care costs are beyond their reach. Some can't afford insurance at all and others have been denied coverage or dropped the minute they got sick. These problems plague our entire population, but disproportionately affect Hispanics.

Hispanics have an unbelievable uninsured rate of 31 percent. Our health system must provide essential services to all Americans, including those of Hispanic descent.

Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing demographic group in this country. They are our future workforce.

Without health care coverage for all Americans, our country's economic future is at risk. Health care reform means having the peace of mind that if something unexpected should happen, an accident or an unexpected illness, people won't fall into economic ruin. Health care coverage for all Americans means a healthier, more productive America.

The time for health care reform is now.

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