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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Insuring Our Kids -- For the Health of It

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Monday, January 22, 2007   


When sick children don't get the proper medical care, the problems can get worse, and the cost to treat them goes up, according to supporters of expanded children's health coverage plans at the state and federal levels. State Senator Tim Mathern of Fargo is a co-sponsor of a North Dakota law that would make more families eligible for the "Healthy Steps" program. He points out that if it passes, 4,000 of the 10,000 uninsured children in North Dakota could get coverage.

"It not only protects them from disease, but it also saves the taxpayers and insurance companies money in the future. Children who get proper health care are children who stay healthy and can contribute more to society as they grow older."

At the federal level, the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is urging Congress to provide health care to all uninsured children. Their plan would simplify and consolidate children's health coverage under Medicaid and make sure children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia get the medical care they need. CDF founder Marian Wright Edelman thinks it's not only fiscally smart, she also calls it 'the right thing to do.'

"We should put children first, with health care for all children now. It should be guaranteed, sick children don't need to be on waiting lists, they need to get health care."

Opponents argue changing the eligibility would costs taxpayers too much. Mathern says the estimated cost to the state is $19 million, but he believes the cost of denying children health care is far greater.

According to a Hart Research poll conducted for CDF, more than three-fourths of Americans think it is important or extremely important for elected leaders in Washington to focus on providing health care for all children in America.




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