John Edwards for President-Edwards Statement On Children's Health Insurance

Edwards Statement On Children's Health Insurance

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement following both the release of a new report that shows that nearly 90 million Americans lacked health insurance at some point over the last two years and President Bush's concurrent threat to veto an expansion of health insurance for children:

"Today's report by Families USA puts America's health care crisis in a shocking new light: nearly 90 million Americans under 65 -- more than one out of three -- were uninsured at some point over the last two years. To fix this health care crisis, we don't need an incremental shift, we need bold change. We need truly universal health care. And we will get it when I'm president in 2009.

"Even in the face of this crisis, President Bush has the gall to threaten to veto an expansion of children's health insurance. Even worse, he cites philosophical concerns about expanding children's health insurance. George Bush's philosophy will deny health care to nine million children in reality. For the sake of our children, President Bush should stop defending a broken system and siding with insurance companies over kids. I call on President Bush to withdraw his veto threat -- our kids and all Americans deserve health care."