Date: 2000-06-06
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. for the 60 minutes. we plan to address the House on health care for children in Texas.. I will be joined by several Members. My colleagues can see. Mr. Speaker. that this ad has a child that has on boxing gloves. Our children should not have to fight to get health care coverage that they truly deserve. A child born in the year 2000 is far more likely to grow up healthy and to reach adulthood than a child that was born in 1900. Over the past 100 years. our Nations scientific. technological. and financial resources have built the most advanced health care system in the world. But the doors of health care still remain shut to some. Millions of children have inadequate medical care. Ensuring that every child in our Nation receives the best possible health care. we must have a top priority in this Nation. To a large extent. health status is still determined by race. language. culture. geography. and economics. In general. children in lowincome communities get sick more often from preventable acute and infectious illnesses. such as measles. conjunctivitis. and ear infections. Lowincome children and teens are also more likely to suffer from chronic medical conditions. such as diabetes and asthma. These are the leading causes of school absences. In fact. the sharpest increases in asthma rates are among the urban youth. Very prevalent. Despite the tremendous advances in medical technology and public health. millions of children have less of a chance to grow up healthy -and strong because of unequal access to health care. Texas is a perfect example. Children without health insurance or a regular source of health care are more likely to seek care from emergency rooms and clinics. which have long waits to see a provider. limited followup. and little to no health education about preventive strategies or ways to manage a chronic illness. Compared with insured children. uninsured children are up to eight times less likely to have a regular source of care. four times more likely to delay seeking care. nearly three times less likely to have seen a provider in the last past year. and five times more likely to use emergency room as a regular place of care. There is no question that insurance is key to maintaining health. When Medicaid was initiated in 1965. infant mortality rates began to decrease. and that continues today. The health insurance status of children through age 18 in Texas compared to that of the rest of the country. On this next chart. imagine 100 children from Texas standing in front of us. 54 of these children are insured through private employerbased policies. 24 percent are uninsured. 22 percent are covered through Medicaid. This equals to about 1.4 million of the 6 million children in Texas without health insurance. On our next chart. just imagine 100 children from all over the country standing in front of us. Sixtyfour percent of these children are insured through private employerbased programs. 21 are covered through Medicare. 15 are uninsured. Why is it that Texass percentage of uninsured children is higher than the Nations average? The reason is due to a Texas Government that chooses not to take advantage of the government funding that will allow many children to be insured. I just read a news clipping here talking about the millions of dollars that is turned back or unused in the Federal Government simply because we have not enrolled these children. It is unfortunate that we have a Government so benign in Texas that will not enroll the children. As a matter of fact. Texas can expand its Medicaid coverage to the age of 18 and cover those whose income is up to 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. Presently. Texas only covers children up to age 18 and whose income is 100 percent of the Federal poverty level with title XXI funds. There is something grossly inadequate about how we take care of our children and their health care in Texas. Over half of all States have expanded the coverage to 200 percent and beyond. The next chart shows income eligibility levels for childnen 1 and older in Medicaid and separate State programs. This chart shows that most States have expanded health care coverage to children in title XXI funds. This coverage is provided through Medicaid expansions and/or separate insurance programs. Why. then. Texas? Ten States offerMedicaid to those with incomes up to 150 percent of the Federal poverty level. Texas falls within that category. Texas falls at the bottom. Our children fall at the bottom. There are several colleagues that I have here. Mr. Speaker. who will also make comments on whether or not our children are being treated fairly if they have to simply fight for the health care they deserve. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.