MonticelloLive

Throughout my career serving Arkansas in the State Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District, ensuring accessible and affordable health care for working families remains one of my top priorities. However, the ever-rising costs for health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses are hurting working families in Arkansas, and making it more and more difficult for working families to even afford health insurance at all for their families.
This week, an alarming study released by FamiliesUSA, a nonpartisan national organization for health care consumers, reports that more than one working-age Arkansan dies each day due to lack of health insurance. In 2006, there were more than 330,000 Arkansans between 25 and 64 who are uninsured. Without insurance, more Americans go without key preventative care such as regular screenings and routine checkup exams. In addition, due to the lack of insurance, these Americans are also more likely to use the emergency room as their primary source of care, or are forced to delay or forgo needed medical care that will allow them to live longer, more productive lives.
Working families should no longer be forced to make difficult spending decisions in other areas to cover health care costs. Unfortunately, the findings of this study come as no surprise to the thousands of Arkansas working families who struggle each day with the rising costs of everything from gasoline to health care.
With the number of Arkansans who cannot afford health insurance increasing by the day, Congress can no longer wait on the sidelines to address this critical problem. Health care is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue – it is a national issue that will require a national response. With my seat on the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I remain committed to elevating this issue in Congress because working families in this country deserve access to quality and affordable health care.